HOW  TO  PRAY 


«Y 


V 


I*     JUN241910 


R.   A.   TORREY  ^<i£fi/CAL  SEWj 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  THE  MOODY  BIBLE  INSTITUTE,  CHICAGO. 

AUTHOR  OF   "HOW  TO  BRING  MEN  TO  CHRIST," 

**WHAT  THE  BIBLS  TEACHES,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK        CHICAGO        TORONTO 

Fleming    H.    Revell    Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


COPYRIGHT,   1900,  BY 
FLEMING    H.    REVELL    COMPANY 


CONTENTS 


I.    The  Importance  of  Prayer         •       •        •  7 

II.     Praying  unto  God 3a 

Obeying  and  Praying 40 

Praying   in   the    Name   of    Christ    and 

According  to  the  Will  of  God    .        ,  48 

V.     Praying  in  the  Spirit      .        .        .        •  58 

Always  Praying  and  Not  Fainting  .        .  63  ^ 

Abiding  in  Christ             .        .        .        •  68 

VIII.     Praying  with  Thanksgiving       •        ,        .  74 

IX.     Hindrances  to  Prayer     .        •        •       •  78 

X.     When  to  Pray 91 

XI.    The  Need  of  a  General  Revival  .        .  100 
XII.    The  Place  of  Prayer  Before  and  During 

Revivals IIS 


III. 
IV. 


VI. 

VII. 


HOW  TO  PRAY 


CHAPTER   I 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   PRAYER 

In  the  6th  chapter  of  Ephesians  in  the  i8th 
verse  we  read  words  which  put  the  tremendous 
importance  of  prayer  with  startling  and  over- 
whelming force : 

"Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  sup- 
plication in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto 
with  all  perseverance  and  supplication  for  all 
saints. ' ' 

When  we  stop  to  weigh  the  meaning  of 
these  words,  then  note  the  connection  in 
which  they  are  found,  the  intelligent  child  of 
God  is  driven  to  say, 

*'I  must  pray,  pray,  pray.  I  must  put  all 
my  energy  and  all  my  heart  into  prayer. 
Whatever  else  I  do,  I  must  pray." 

The  Revised  Version  is,  if  possible,  stronger 
than  the  Authorized: 

*'With  all  prayer  and  supplication  praying 


8  HOW  TO   PRAY 

at  all  seasons  in  the  Spirit,  and  watching 
thereunto  in  all  perseverance  and  supplication 
for  all  the  saints. ' ' 

Note  the  alls:  *'with  all  prayer,"  "at  all 
seasons,"  "in  all  perseverance,"  "for  a// the 
saints."  Note  the  piling  up  of  strong  words, 
"prayer,"  "supplication,"  "perseverance." 
Note  once  more  the  strong  expression,  "watch- 
ing thereunto,"  more  literally,  "being  sleep- 
less thereunto."  Paul  realized  the  natural 
slothfulness  of  man,  and  especially  his  natural 
slothfulness  in  prayer.  How  seldom  we  pray 
things  through!  How  often  the  church  and 
the  individual  get  right  up  to  the  verge  of  a 
great  blessing  in  prayer  and  just  then  let  go, 
get  drowsy,  quit.  I  wish  that  these  words 
"being  sleepless  unto  prayer"  might  burn 
into  our  hearts.  I  wish  the  whole  verse  might 
burn  into  our  hearts. 

But  why  is  this  constant,  persistent,  sleep- 
less, overcoming  prayer  so  needful? 

I.  First  of  all,  because  there  is  a  devil. 

He  is  cunning,  he  is  mighty,  he  never  rests, 
he  is  ever  plotting  the  downfall  of  the  child 
of  God;  and  if  the  child  of  God  relaxes  in 
prayer,  the  devil  will  succeed  in  ensnaring 
him. 


THE   IMPORTANCE    OF   PRAYER  9 

This  is  the  thought  of  the  context.  The 
12th  verse  reads:  *'For  our  wrestling  is  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  the  prin- 
cipalities, against  the  powers,  against  the  world 
rulers  of  this  darkness,  against  the  spiritual 
hosts  of  wickedness  in  the  heavenly  places. " 
(R.  V.)  Then  comes  the  13th  verse:  "Where- 
fore take  up  the  whole  armor  of  God,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and, 
having  done  all,  to  stand."  (R.  V.)  Next 
follows  a  description  of  the  different  parts  of 
the  Christian's  armor,  which  we  are  to  put  on 
if  we  are  to  stand  against  the  devil  and  his 
mighty  wiles.  Then  Paul  brings  all  to  a 
climax  in  the  i8th  verse,  telling  us  that  to  all 
else  we  must  add  prayer — constant,  persistent, 
untiring,  sleepless  prayer  in  the  Holy  Spirit, 
or  all  else  will  go  for  nothing. 

2.  A  second  reason  for  this  constant,  per- 
sistent, sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that 
prayer  is  God^s  appointed  way  for  obtaining 
things^  and  the  great  secret  of  all  lack  in  our 
experience^  in  our  life  and  in  our  work  is  neglect 
of  prayer. 

James  brings  this  out  very  forcibly  in  the  4th 
chapter  and  2d  verse  of  his  epistle:  "Ye  have 
not  because  ye  ask  not. "     These  words  contain 


lO  HOW  TO   PRAY 

the  secret  of  the  poverty  and  powerlessness  of 
the  average  Christian — neglect  of  prayer. 

*'Why  is  it,"  many  a  Christian  is  asking, 
'*I  make  so  little  progress  in  my  Christian 
life?" 

*' Neglect  of  prayer,"  God  answers.  **You 
have  not  because  you  ask  not.  *  * 

**Why  is  it,"  many  a  minister  is  asking,  *'I 
see  so  little  fruit  from  my  labors?" 

Again  God  answers,  **  Neglect  of  prayer. 
You  have  not  because  you  ask  not." 

**Why  is  it,"  many  a  Sunday-school  teacher 
is  asking,  "that  I  see  so  few  converted  in  my 
Sunday-school  class?" 

Still  God  answers,  **  Neglect  of  prayer.  You 
have  not  because  you  ask  not.  * ' 

**Why  is  it,"  both  ministers  and  churches  are 
asking,  **that  the  church  of  Christ  makes  so 
little  headway  against  unbelief  and  error  and 
sin  and  worldliness?"' 

Once  more  we  hear  God  answering, 
**  Neglect  of  prayer.  You  have  not  because 
you  ask  not. ' ' 

3.  The  third  reason  for  this  constant,  per- 
sistent, sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that 
those  men  whom  God  set  forth  as  a  pattern  of 
what  He  expected  Christians  to  be — the  apostie^ 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  II 

— regarded  prayer  as  the  most  important  buS' 
iness  of  their  lives. 

When  the  multiplying  responsibilities  of  the 
early  church  crowded  in  upon  them,  they 
"called  the  multitude  of  the  disciples  unto 
them,  and  said,  It  is  not  reason  that  we  should 
leave  the  Word  of  God,  and  serve  tables. 
Wherefore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among-  you 
seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint  over 
this  business.  But  we  will  give  ourselves  con- 
tinually to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Word."  It  is  evident  from  what  Paul  wrote 
to  the  churches  and  to  individuals  about  pray- 
ing for  them,  that  very  much  of  his  time  and 
strength  and  thought  was  given  to  prayer. 
(Rom.  1:9,  R.  v.;  Eph.  1:15,  16;  Col.  1:9,  R. 
v.;  I  Thess.  3:10;  2  Tim.  1:3,  R.  V.) 

All  the  mighty  men  of  God  outside  the  Bible  ^ 
have  been  men  of  prayer.     They  have  differed 
from  one  another  in  many  things,  but  in  this 
they  have  been  alike. 

4.  But  there  is  a  still  weightier  reason  for 
this  constant,  persistent,  sleepless,  overcoming 
prayer.  It  is,  prayer  occupied  a  very  prominent 
place  and  played  a  very  important  part  in  the 
earthly  life  of  our  Lord, 


I  a  HOW  TO  PRAY 

Turn,  for  example,  to  Mark  i  :35.  We  read, 
**And  in  the  morning,  rising  tip  a  great  while 
before  day,  He  went  out,  and  departed  into  a 
solitary  place,  and  there  prayed.**  The  pre- 
ceding day  had  been  a  very  busy  and  exciting 
one,  but  Jesus  shortened  the  hours  of  needed 
'  sleep  that  He  might  arise  early  and  give  Him- 
self to  more  sorely  needed  prayer. 

Turn  again  to  Luke  6:13,  where  we  read, 
•*And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days  that  He 
went  out  into  a  mountain  to  pray,  and  con- 
tinued all  night  in  prayer  to  God."  Our 
Savior  found  it  necessary  on  occasion  to  take  a 
whole  night  for  prayer. 

I  The  words  *'pray"  and  * 'prayer'*  are  used  at 
least  twenty-five  times  in  connection  with  our 
Lord  in  the  brief  record  of  His  life  in  the  four 
Gospels,  and  His  praying  is  mentioned  in 
places  where  the  words  are  not  used.  Evi- 
dently prayer  took  much  of  the  time  and 
strength  of  Jesus,  and  a  man  or  woman  who 
does  not  spend  much  time  in  prayer,  can- 
not properly  be  called  a  follower  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

5.  There  is  another  reason  for  constant,  per- 
sistent, sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  that 
seems  if  possible  even  more  forcible  than  this, 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   PRAYER 


13 


namely,  praying  is  the  most  important  part  of  { 
the  present  ministry  of  our  risen  Lord, 

Christ's  ministry  did  not  close  with  His 
death.  His  atoning  work  was  finished  then, 
but  when  He  rose  and  ascended  to  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father,  He  entered  upon  other 
work  for  us  just  as  important  in  its  place  as 
His  atoning  work.  It  cannot  be  divorced  from 
His  atoning  work;  it  rests  upon  that  as  its 
basis,  but  it  is  necessary  to  our  complete 
salvation. 

What  that  great  present  work  is,  by  which 
He  carries  our  salvation  on  to  completeness,  we 
read  in  Heb.  7:25,  "Wherefore  He  is  able  also 
to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that  come  unto 
God  by  Him,  seeing  He  ever  liveth  to  make 
intercession  for  them.''  This  verse  tells  us 
that  Jesus  is  able  to  save  us  unto  the  utter- 
most, not  merely  from  the  uttermost,  but  unto 
the  uttermost,  unto  entire  completeness,  abso- 
lute perfection,  because  He  not  merely  died, 
but  because  He  also  "ever  liveth. "  The  verse 
also  tells  us  for  what  purpose  He  now  lives, 
*7<?  make  i7iter cession  for  us,"  to  pray.  Pray- 
ing is  the  principal  thing  He  is  doing  in  these 
days.     It  is  by  His  prayers  that  He  is  saving  us. 

The  same  thought  is  found  in  Paul's  remark- 


14  HOW  TO   PRAY 

able,  triumpliant  challenge  in  Rom.  8:34 — 
*'Who  is  he  that  shall  condemn?  It  is  Christ 
Jesus  that  died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised 
from  the  dead,  who  is  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us.** 
(R.  V.) 

If  we  then  are  to  have  fellowship  with  Jesus 
Christ  in  His  present  work,  we  must  spend 
much  time  in  prayer;  we  must  give  ourselves 
to  earnest,  constant,  persistent,  sleepless,  over- 
coming prayer.  I  know  of  nothing  that  has  so 
impressed  me  with  a  sense  of  the  importance 
of  praying  at  all  seasons,  being  much  and  con- 
stantly in  prayer,  as  the  thought  that  that  is 
the  principal  occupation  at  present  of  my  risen 
Lord.  I  want  to  have  fellowship  with  Him, 
and  to  that  end  I  have  asked  the  Father  that 
whatever  else  He  may  make  me,  to  make  me 
at  all  events  an  intercessor,  to  make  me  a  man 
who  knows  how  to  pray,  and  who  spends  much 
time  in  prayer. 

This  ministry  of  intercession  is  a  glorious 
and  a  mighty  ministry,  and  we  can  all  have  part 
in  it.  The  man  or  the  woman  who  is  shut 
away  from  the  public  meeting  by  sickness  can 
have  part  in  it;  the  busy  mother;  the  woman 
who  has  to  take  in  washing  for  a  living  can 


THE   IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  I5 

have  part — she  can  mingle  prayers  for  the 
saints,  and  for  her  pastor,  and  for  the  unsaved, 
and  for  foreign  missionaries,  with  the  soap  and 
water  as  she  bends  over  the  washtub,  and  not 
do  the  washing  any  more  poorly  on  that 
account;  the  hard  driven  man  of  business  can 
have  part  in  it,  praying  as  he  hurries  from  duty 
to  duty.  But  of  course  we  must,  if  we  would 
maintain  this  spirit  of  constant  prayer,  take 
time — and  take  plenty  of  it  —  when  we  shall 
shut  ourselves  up  in  the  secret  place  alone 
with  God  for  nothing  but  prayer. 

6.  The  sixth  reason  for  constant,  persistent, 
sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that  prayer  is 
the  means  that  God  has  appointed  for  our  receiv- 
ing mercy ^  and  obtai7iing  grace  to  help  in  time 
of  need. 

Heb.  4:16  is  one  of  the  simplest  and  sweetest 
verses  in  the  Bible, — *'Let  us  therefore  come 
boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that  we  may 
obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of 
need."  These  words  make  it  very  plain  that 
God  has  appointed  a  way  by  which  we  shall 
seek  and  obtain  mercy  and  grace.  That  way  is 
prayer;  bold,  confident,  outspoken  approach 
to  the  throne  of  grace,  the  most  holy  place  of 
God's  presence,  where  our  sympathizing  High 


16  HOW  TO  PRAY 

Priest,  Jesus  Christ,  has  entered  in  our  behalf. 
(Verses  14,  15.) 

Mercy  is  what  we  need,  grace  is  what  we 
must  have,  or  all  our  life  and  effort  will  end  in 
complete  failure.  Prayer  is  the  way  to  get 
them.  There  is  infinite  grace  at  our  disposal, 
and  we  make  it  ours  experimentally  by  prayer. 
Oh,  if  we  only  realized  the  fullness  of  God's 
grace  that  is  ours  for  the  asking,  its  height  and 
depth  and  length  and  breadth,  I  am  sure  that 
we  would  spend  more  time  in  prayer.  The 
measure  of  our  appropriation  of  grace  is  deter- 
mined by  the  measure  of  our  prayers. 

Who  is  there  that  does  not  feel  that  he  needs 
more  grace?  Then  ask  for  it.  Be  constant 
and  persistent  in  your  asking.  Be  importunate 
and  untiring  in  your  asking.  God  delights  to 
have  us  * 'shameless"  beggars  in  this  direction; 
for  it  shows  our  faith  in  Him,  and  He  is 
mightily  pleased  with  faith.  Because  of  our 
•*shamelessness"  He  will  rise  and  give  us  as 
much  as  we  need  (Luke  11:8).  What  little 
streams  of  mercy  and  grace  most  of  us  know, 
when  we  might  know  rivers  overflowing  their 
banks ! 

7.  The  next  reason  for  constant,  persistent, 
sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that  prayer  tn 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  I7 

the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  way  Jesus  Christ 
Himself  has  appointed  for  His  disciples  to  obtain 
fullness  of  joy. 

He  states  this  simply  and  beautifully  in 
John  16:24,  ** Hitherto  have  ye  asked  nothing 
in  My  name;  ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that 
your  joy  may  be  fulfilled."  "Made  full"  is 
the  way  the  Revised  Version  reads.  Who  is 
there  that  does  not  wish  his  joy  filled  full? 
Well,  the  way  to  have  it  filled  full  is  by  pray- 
ing in  the  name  of  Jesus.  We  all  know  people 
whose  joy  is  filled  full,  indeed,  it  i's  just  rimning 
over,  is  shining  from  their  eyes,  bubbling  out 
of  their  very  lips,  and  running  off  their  finger 
tips  when  they  shake  hands  with  you.  Coming 
in  contact  with  them  is  like  coming  in  contact 
with  an  electrical  machine  charged  with  glad- 
ness. Now  people  of  that  sort  are  always 
people  that  spend  much  time  in  prayer. 
•  Why  is  it  that  prayer  in  the  name  of  Christ 
brings  such  fullness  of  joy?  In  part,  because 
we  get  what  we  ask.  But  that  is  not  the  only 
reason,  nor  the  greatest.  It  makes  God  real. 
When  we  ask  something  definite  of  God,  and 
He  gives  it,  how  real  God  becomes!  He  is 
right  there !  It  is  blessed  to  have  a  God  who 
is  real,  and  not  merely  an  idea,     I  remember 


1 8  HOW   TO   PRAY 

how  once  I  was  taken  suddenly  and  seriously 
sick  all  alone  in  my  study.  I  dropped  upon 
my  knees  and  cried  to  God  for  help.  Instantly 
all  pain  left  me — I  was  perfectly  well.  It 
seemed  as  if  God  stood  right  there,  and  had 
put  out  His  hand  and  touched  me.  The  joy  of 
the  healing  was  not  so  great  as  the  joy  of 
meeting  God. 

There  is  no  greater  joy  on  earth  or  in 
heaven,  than  communion  with  God,  and 
prayer  in  the  name  of  Jesus  brings  us  intc 
communion  with  Him.  The  Psalmist  was 
surely  not  speaking  only  of  future  blessed- 
ness, but  also  of  present  blessedness  when  he 
said,  *'In  Thy  presence  is  fullness  of  joy." 
(Ps.  i6:ii.)  O  the  unutterable  joy  of  those 
moments  when  in  our  prayers  we  really  press 
into  the  presence  of  God! 

Does  some  one  say,  *'I  have  never  known 
any  such  joy  as  that  in  prayer"? 

Do  you  take  enough  leisure  for  prayer  to 
actually  get  into  God's  presence?  Do  you 
really  give  yourself  up  to  prayer  in  the  time 
which  you  do  take? 

8.  The  eighth  reason  for  constant,  persistent, 
sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that  prayer^  in 
every  care  and  anxiety  and  need  of  life^  with 


THE    IMPORTANCE   OF   PRAYER  I9 

thanksgivings  is  the  means  that  God  has  ap- 
pointed for  our  obtaining  freedom  from  all 
anxiety s  and  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding, 

"Be  careful  for  nothing-,"  says  Paul,  **but  in 
everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  God,  and  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth 
all  understanding,  shall  keep  your  hearts  and 
minds  through  Christ  Jesus."  (Phil.  4:6,  7.) 
To  many  this  seems,  at  the  first  glance,  the 
picture  of  a  life  that  is  beautiful,  but  beyond 
the  reach  of  ordinary  mortals;  not  so  at  all. 
The  verse  tells  us  how  the  life  is  attainable 
by  every  child  of  God:  "Be  careful  for  noth- 
ing," or  as  the  Revised  Version  reads,  "In 
nothing  be  anxious."  The  remainder  of  the 
verse  tells  us  how,  and  it  is  very  simple :  "But 
in  everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  God."  What  could  be  plainer  or  more 
simple  than  that?  Just  keep  in  constant  touch 
with  God,  and  when  any  trouble  or  vexation, 
great  or  small,  comes  up,  speak  to  Him  about 
it,  never  forgetting  to  return  thanks  for  what 
He  has  already  done.  What  will  the  result  be? 
**The  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  under- 


a*  HOW   TO   PRAY 

standing  shall  guard  your  hearts  and  your 
thoughts  in  Christ  Jesus."  (R.  V.) 

That  is  glorious,  and  as  simple  as  it  is 
glorious!  Thank  God,  many  are  trying  it. 
Don't  you  know  any  one  who  is  always  serene? 
Perhaps  he  is  a  very  stormy  man  by  his  natural 
make-up,  but  troubles  and  conflicts  and 
reverses  and  bereavements  may  sweep  around 
him,  and  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding  guards  his  heart  and  his 
thoughts  in  Christ  Jesus. 

We  all  know  such  persons.  How  do  they 
manage  it? 

Just  by  prayer,  that  is  all.  Those  persons 
who  know  the  deep  peace  of  God,  the 
unfathomable  peace  that  passeth  all  under- 
standing, are  always  men  and  women  of 
much  prayer. 

Some  of  us  let  the  hurry  of  our  lives  crowd 
prayer  out,  and  what  a  waste  of  time  and 
energy  and  nerve  force  there  is  by  the  constant 
worry!  One  night  of  prayer  will  save  us  from 
many  nights  of  insomnia.  Time  spent  in 
prayer  is  not  wasted,  but  time  invested  at  big 
interest. 

9.  The  ninth  reason  for  constant,  persistent, 
sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that  prayer  is 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   PRAYER  21 

the  method  that  God  Himself  has  appointed  for 
our  obtaining  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Upon  this  point  the  Bible  is  very  plain. 
Jesus  says,  "If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 
much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him?"  (Luke 
11:13.)  Men  are  telling  us  in  these  days,  very 
good  men  too,  *'You  must  not  pray  for  the 
Holy  Spirit, ' '  but  what  are  they  going  to  do 
with  the  plain  statement  of  Jesus  Christ,  "How 
much  more  will  your  heavenly  Father  give  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him?'* 

Some  years  ago  when  an  address  on  the 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit  was  announced, 
a  brother  came  to  me  before  the  address  and 
said  with  much  feeling, 

**Be  sure  and  tell  them  not  to  pray  for  the 
Holy  Spirit." 

*'I  will  surely  not  tell  them  that,  for  Jesus 
says,  'How  much  more  shall  your  heavenly 
Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
Him.'" 

**0  yes,''  he  replied,  "but  that  was  before 
Pentecost." 

''How  about  Acts  4:31?  was  that  before 
Pentecost,  or  after?" 


2Z  HOW  TO   PRAY 

"After,  of  course." 

"Read  it." 

"  'And  when  they  had  prayed^  the  place  was 
shaken  where  they  were  assembled  together; 
and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost ^ 
and  they  spake  the  word  of  God  with  bold- 
ness.' '• 

**How  about  Acts  8:15?  was  that  before 
Pentecost  or  after?" 

"After." 

"Please  read." 

"  *Who,  when  they  were  come  down,  prayed 
for  them,  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy 
Ghost.'" 

He  made  no  answer.  What  could  he  answer? 
It  is  plain  as  day  in  the  Word  of  God  that 
before  Pentecost  and  after,  the  first  baptism 
and  the  subsequent  fillings  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  were  received  in  answer  to  definite 
prayer.     Experience  also  teaches  this. 

Doubtless  many  have  received  the  Holy 
Spirit  the  moment  of  their  surrender  to  God 
before  there  was  time  to  pray,  but  how  many 
there  are  who  know  that  their  first  definite 
baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit  came  while  they 
were  on  their  knees  or  faces  before  God,  alone 
or  in  company  with  others,  and  who  again  and 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  23 

again  since  that  have  been  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  place  of  prayer! 

I  know  this  as  definitely  as  I  know  that  my 
thirst  has  been  quenched  while  I  was  drinking 
water.  Early  one  morning  in  the  Chicago 
Avenue  Church  prayer  room,  where  several 
hundred  people  had  been  assembled  a  number 
of  hours  in  prayer,  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  so 
manifestly,  and  the  whole  place  was  so  filled 
with  His  presence,  that  no  one  could  speak  or 
pray,  but  sobs  of  joy  filled  the  place.  Men 
went  out  of  that  room  to  different  parts  of  the 
country,  taking  trains  that  very  morning,  and 
reports  soon  came  back  of  the  out-pouring  of 
God's  Holy  Spirit  in  answer  to  prayer.  Others 
went  out  into  the  city  with  the  blessing  of 
God  upon  them.  This  is  only  one  instance 
among  many  that  might  be  cited  from  personal 
experience. 

If  we  would  only  spend  more  time  in  prayer, 
there  would  be  more  fullness  of  the  Spirit's 
power  in  our  work.  Many  and  many  a  man 
who  once  worked  unmistakably  in  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  now  filling  the  air  with 
empty  shoutings,  and  beating  it  with  his  mean- 
ingless gesticulations,  because  he  has  let  prayer 
be  crowded  out.     We  must  spend  much  time 


24  HOW  TO   PRAY 

on  our  knees  before  God,  if  we  are  to  continue 
in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

lo.  The  tenth  reason  for  constant,  persistent, 
sleepless,  overcoming  prayer  is  that  prayer  is 
the  means  that  Christ  has  appointed  whereby  our 
hearts  shall  not  become  overcharged  with  surfeit- 
ing and  drunkenness  and  cares  of  this  life,  and 
so  the  day  of  Christ's  return  come  upon  us  sud- 
denly as  a  snare. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  solemn 
passages  upon  prayer  in  the  Bible  is  along 
this  line.  (Luke  21:34-36.)  "Take  heed  to 
yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your  hearts  be 
overcharged  with  surfeiting  and  drunkenness 
and  cares  of  this  life,  and  so  that  day  come 
upon  you  unawares.  For  as  a  snare  shall  it 
come  on  all  them  that  dwell  on  the  face  of  the 
whole  earth.  Watch  ye  therefore,  and  pray 
always,  that  ye  may  be  accounted  worthy  to 
escape  all  these  things  that  shall  come  to  pass, 
and  to  stand  before  the  Son  of  man. "  Accord- 
ing to  this  passage  there  is  only  one  way  in 
which  we  can  be  prepared  for  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  when  He  appears,  that  is,  through 
much  prayer. 

The  coming  again  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  sub- 
ject that  is  awakening  much  interest  and  much 


THE    IMPORTANCE   OF    PRAYER  25 

discussion  in  our  day;  but  it  is  one  thing  to  be 
interested  in  the  Lord's  leturn,  and  to  talk 
about  it,  and  quite  another  thing  to  be  pre- 
pared for  it.  We  live  in  an  atmosphere  that 
has  a  constant  tendency  to  unfit  us  for  Christ's 
coming.  The  world  tends  to  draw  us  down  by 
its  gratifications  and  by  its  cares.  There  is 
only  one  way  by  which  we  can  rise  triumphant 
above  these  things — by  constant  watching  unto 
prayer,  that  is,  by  sleeplessness  unto  prayer. 
** Watch"  in  this  passage  is  the  same  strong 
word  used  in  Eph.  6:18,  and  "always"  the 
same  strong  phrase  ** in  every  season."  The 
man  who  spends  little  time  in  prayer,  who  is 
not  steadfast  and  constant  in  prayer,  will  not  be 
ready  for  the  Lord  when  He  comes.  But  we 
may  be  ready.     How?     Pray!  Pray!  Pray! 

1 1  There  is  one  more  reason  for  constant, 
persistent,  sleepless,  overcoming  prayer,  and 
it  is  a  mighty  one-  because  of  what  prayer 
accomplishes.  Much  has  really  been  said  upon 
that  already,  but  there  is  much  also  that 
should  be  added. 

(i)  Prayer  promotes  our  spiritual  growth  as 
almost  nothing  else,  indeed  as  nothing  else  but 
Bible  study;  and  true  prayer  and  true  Bible 
study  go  hand  in  hand. 


a6  HOW   TO   PRAY 

It  is  through  prayer  that  my  sin  is  brought 
to  light,  my  most  hidden  sin.  As  I  kneel 
before  God  and  pray,  *' Search  me,  O  God, 
and  know  my  heart:  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts:  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  me,"  (Ps.  139:23,  24),  God  shoots  the 
penetrating  rays  of  His  light  into  the  inner- 
most recesses  of  my  heart,  and  the  sins  I  never 
suspected  are  brought  to  view.  In  answer  to 
prayer,  God  washes  me  from  mine  iniquity 
and  cleanses  me  from  my  sin  (Ps.  51:2).  In 
answer  to  prayer  my  eyes  are  opened  to  be- 
hold wondrous  things  out  of  God's  Word  (Ps. 
119:18).  In  answer  to  prayer  I  get  wisdom  to 
know  God's  way  (J as.  1:5)  and  strength  to 
walk  in  it.  As  I  meet  God  in  prayer  and  gaze 
into  His  face,  I  am  changed  into  His  own 
image  from  glory  to  glory  (2  Cor.  3:18). 
Each  day  of  true  prayer  life  finds  me  liker  to 
my  glorious  Lord. 

John  Welch,  son-in-law  to  John  Knox,  was 
one  of  the  most  faithful  men  of  prayer  this 
world  ever  saw.  He  counted  that  day  ill-spent 
in  which  seven  or  eight  hours  were  not  used 
alone  with  God  in  prayer  and  the  study  of  His 
Word.  An  old  man  speaking  of  him  after  his 
death  said,  "He  was  a  type  of  Christ." 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  27 

How  came  he  to  be  so  like  his  Master? 

His  prayer  life  explains  the  mystery. 

(2)  Prayer  brings  power  into  our  work. 

If  we  wish  power  for  any  work  to  which  God 
calls  us,  be  it  preaching,  teaching,  personal 
work,  or  the  rearing  of  our  children,  we  can 
get  it  by  earnest  prayer. 

A  woman  with  a  little  boy  who  was  perfectly 
incorrigible,  once  came  to  me  in  desperation 
and  said: 

'*What  shall  I  do  with  him?" 

I  asked,  "Have  you  ever  tried  prayer?" 

She  said  that  she  had  prayed  for  him,  she 
thought.  I  asked  if  she  had  made  his  con- 
version and  his  character  a  matter  of  definite, 
expectant  prayer.  She  replied  that  she  had 
not  been  definite  in  the  matter.  She  began 
that  day,  and  at  once  there  was  a  marked 
change  in  the  child,  and  he  grew  up  into 
Christian  manhood. 

How  many  a  Sunday-school  teacher  has 
taught  for  months  and  years,  and  seen  no  real 
fruit  from  his  labors,  and  then  has  learned  the 
seciet  of  intercession,  and  by  earnest  pleading 
with  God,  has  seen  his  scholars  brought  one 
by  one  to  Christ!  How  many  a  poor  preacher 
has  become  a  mighty  man  of  God  by  casting 


28  HOW  TO   PRAY 

away  his  confidence  in  his  own  ability  and 
gifts,  and  giving  himself  up  to  God  to  wait 
upon  Him  for  the  power  that  comes  from  on 
high!  John  Livingstone  spent  a  night,  with 
some  others  likeminded,  in  prayer  to  God  and 
religious  conversation,  and  when  he  preached 
next  day  in  the  Kirk  of  Shotts  five  hundred 
people  were  converted,  or  dated  some  definite 
uplift  in  their  life  to  that  occasion.  Prayer 
and  power  are  inseparable. 

(3)  Prayer  avails  for  the  conversion  of 
others. 

There  are  few  converted  in  this  world  unless 
in  connection  with  some  one's  prayers.  I 
formerly  thought  that  no  human  being  had 
anything  to  do  with  my  own  conversion,  for  I 
was  not  converted  in  church  or  Sunday-school, 
or  in  personal  conversation  with  any  one.  I 
was  awakened  in  the  middle  of  the  night  and 
converted.  As  far  as  I  can  remember  I  had 
not  the  slightest  thought  of  being  converted,  or 
of  anything  of  that  character,  when  I  went  to 
bed  and  fell  asleep ;  but  I  was  awakened  in  the 
middle  of  the  night  and  converted  probably 
inside  of  five  minutes.  A  few  minutes  before 
I  was  about  as  near  eternal  perdition  as  one 
gets.     I  had  one  foot  over  the  brink  and  was 


THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    PRAYER  29 

trying  to  get  the  other  one  over.  I  say  I 
thought  no  human  being  had  anything  to  do 
with  it,  but  I  had  forgotten  my  mother's  pray- 
ers, and  I  afterward  learned  that  one  of  my 
college  classmates  had  chosen  me  as  one  to 
pray  for  until  I  was  saved. 

Prayer  often  avails  where  everything  else 
fails.  How  utterly  all  of  Monica's  efforts  and 
entreaties  failed  with  her  son,  but  her  prayers 
prevailed  with  God,  and  the  dissolute  youth 
became  St.  Augustine,  the  mighty  man  of  God. 
By  prayer  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  Gospel 
^lave  become  its  most  valiant  defenders,  the 
greatest  scoundrels  the  truest  sons  of  God, 
and  the  vilest  women  the  purest  saints.  Oh,  the 
power  of  prayer  to  reach  down,  down,  down 
where  hope  itself  seems  vain,  and  lift  men 
and  women  up,  up,  up  into  fellowship  with 
and  likeness  to  God.  It  is  simply  wonderful! 
How  little  we  appreciate  this  marvelous 
weapon ! 

(4)  Prayer  brings  blessings  to  the  church. 

The  history  of  the  church  has  always  been  a 
history  of  grave  difficulties  to  overcome.  The 
devil  hates  the  church  and  seeks  in  every  way 
to  block  its  progress;  now  by  false  doctrine, 
again  by  division,  again  by  inward  corruption 


y 


30  HOW   TO   PRAY 

of  life.  But  by  prayer,  a  clear  way  can  be 
made  through  everything.  Prayer  will  root 
out  heresy,  allay  misunderstanding,  sweep 
away  jealousies  and  animosities,  obliterate 
immoralities,  and  bring  in  the  full  tide  of 
God's  reviving  grace.  History  abundantly 
proves  this.  In  the  hour  of  darkest  portent, 
when  the  case  of  the  church,  local  or  universal, 
has  seemed  beyond  hope,  believing  men  and 
believmg  women  have  met  together  and  cried 
to  God  and  the  answer  has  come. 

It  was  so  in  the  days  of  Knox,  it  was  so  in 
the  days  of  Wesley  and  Whitfield,  it  was  so  in 
the  days  of  Edwards  and  Brainerd,  it  was  so 
in  the  days  of  Finney,  it  was  so  in  the  days  of 
the  great  revival  of  1 85  7  in  this  country  and  of 
1859  in  Ireland,  and  it  will  be  so  again  in 
your  day  and  mine.  Satan  has  marshalled  his 
forces.  Christian  science  with  its  false  Christ 
— a  woman — lifts  high  its  head.  Others  mak- 
ing great  pretentions  of  apostolic  methods,  but 
covering  the  rankest  dishonesty  and  hypocrisy 
with  these  pretentions,  speak  with  loud 
assurance.  Christians  equally  loyal  to  the 
great  fundamental  truths  of  the  Gospel  are 
glowering  at  one  another  with  a  devil-sent 
suspicion.     The  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil 


THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   PRAYER  31 

are  holding  high  carnival.  It  is  now  a  dark 
day,  but — now  "it  is  time  for  Thee,  Lord,  to 
work;  for  they  have  made  void  Thy  law. "  (Ps. 
119:126.)  And  He  is  getting  ready  to  work, 
and  now  He  is  listening  for  the  voice  of  prayer. 
Will  He  hear  it?  Will  He  hear  it  from  you? 
Will  He  hear  it  from  the  church  as  a  bodyr  I 
believe  He  will. 


CHAPTER  II 

PRAYING    UNTO   GOD 

We  have  seen  something  of  the  tremendous 
importance  and  the  resistless  power  of  prayer, 
and  now  we  come  diroctly  to  the  question — how 
to  pray  with  power. 

I.  In  the  1 2th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  we  have  the  record  of  a  prayer  that 
prevailed  with  God,  and  brought  to  pass  great 
results.  In  the  5th  verse  of  this  chapter,  the 
manner  and  method  of  this  prayer  is  described 
in  few  words: 

*' Prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  of  the 
church  unto  God  for  him. ' ' 

The  first  thing  to  notice  in  this  verse  is  the 
brief  expression  **unto  God. "  The  prayer  that 
has  power  is  the  prayer  that  is  offered  unto 
God. 

But  some  will  say,  **Is  not  all  prayer  unto 
God?" 

No.     Very  much  of  so-called  prayer,  both 

public  and  private,  is  not  unto  God.     In  order 

that  a  prayer  should  be  really  unto  God,  there 
32 


PRAYING   UNTO   GOD  JJ 

must  be  a  definite  and  conscious  approach  to 
God  when  we  pray;  we  must  have  a  definite 
and  vivid  realization  that  God  is  bending  over 
us  and  listening  as  we  pray.  In  very  much  of 
our  prayer  there  is  really  but  little  thought  of 
God.  Our  mind  is  taken  up  with  the  thought 
of  what  we  need,  and  is  not  occupied  with  the 
thought  of  the  mighty  and  loving  Father  of 
whom  we  are  seeking  it.  Oftentimes  it  is  the 
case  that  we  are  occupied  neither  with  the 
need  nor  with  the  One  to  whom  we  are  pray- 
ing, but  our  mind  is  wandering  here  and  there 
throughout  the  world.  There  is  no  power  in 
that  sort  of  prayer.  But  when  we  really  come 
into  God's  presence,  really  meet  Him  face  to 
face  in  the  place  of  prayer,  really  seek  the 
things  that  we  desire  from  Him^  then  there  is 
power. 

If,  then,  we  would  pray  aright,  the  first  thing 
that  we  should  do  is  to  see  to  it  that  we  really 
get  an  audience  with  God,  that  we  really  get 
into  His  very  presence.  Before  a  word  of 
petition  is  offered,  we  should  have  the  definite 
and  vivid  consciousness  that  we  are  talking  to 
God,  and  should  believe  that  He  is  listening 
to  our  petition  and  is  going  to  grant  the  thing 
that  we  ask  of  Him.     This  is  only  possible  by 


34  HOW  TO  PRAY 

the  Holy  Spirit's  power,  so  we  should  look  to 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  really  lead  us  into  the 
presence  of  God,  and  should  not  be  hasty  in 
words  until  He  has  actually  brought  us  there. 

One  night  a  very  active  Christian  man 
dropped  into  a  little  prayer-meeting  that  I  was 
leading.  Before  we  knelt  to  pray,  I  said  some- 
thing like  the  above,  telling  all  the  friends  to 
be  sure  before  they  prayed,  and  while  they 
were  praying,  that  they  really  were  in  God's 
presence,  that  they  had  the  thought  of  Him 
definitely  in  mind,  and  to  be  more  taken  up 
with  Him  than  with  their  petition.  A  few 
days  after  I  met  this  same  gentleman,  and  he 
said  that  this  simple  thought  was  entirely  new 
to  him,  that  it  had  made  prayer  an  entirely 
new  experience  to  him. 

If  then  we  would  pray  aright,  these  two  little 
words  must  sink  deep  into  our  hearts,  *^unto 
Godr 

2.  The  second  secret  of  effective  praying  is 
found  in  the  same  verse,  in  the  words  '*  without 
ceasing.** 

In  the  Revised  Version,  "without  ceasing" 
is  rendered  "earnestly."  Neither  rendering 
gives  the  full  force  of  the  Greek.  The  word 
means  literally  "stretched-out-ed-ly."     It  is  a 


PRAYING    UNTO   GOD  35 

pictorial  word,  and  wonderfully  expressive.  It 
represents  the  soul  on  a  stretch  of  earnest  and 
intense  desire.  "Intensely"  would  perhaps 
come  as  near  translating-  it  as  any  English 
word.  It  is  the  word  used  of  our  Lord  in  Luke 
22:44  where  it  is  said,  **He  prayed  more 
earnestly:  and  His  sweat  was  as  it  were  great 
drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground." 
We  read  in  Heb.  5  17  that  "in  the  days  of  His 
flesh"  Christ  'offered  up  prayers  and  supplica- 
tions with  strong  crying  and  tears. "  In  Rom. 
15:30,  Paul  beseeches  the  saints  in  Rome  to 
strive  together  with  him  in  their  prayers.  The 
word  translated  "strive"  means  primarily  to 
contend  as  in  athletic  games  or  in  a  fight.  In 
other  words,  the  prayer  that  prevails  with  God 
is  the  prayer  into  which  we  put  our  whole  soul, 
stretching  out  toward  God  in  intense  and 
agonizing  desire.  Much  of  our  modern  prayer 
has  no  power  in  it  because  there  is  no  heart  in 
it.  We  rush  into  God's  presence,  run  through 
a  string  of  petitions,  jump  up  and  go  out.  If 
some  one  should  ask  us  an  hour  afterward  for 
what  we  prayed,  oftentimes  we  could  not  tell. 
If  we  put  so  little  heart  into  our  prayers,  we 
cannot  expect  God  to  put  much  heart  into 
answering  them. 


v" 


30  HOW   TO   PRAY 

We  hear  much  in  our  day  of  the  rest  of 
faith ,  but  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  fight  of 
faith  in  prayer  as  well  as  in  effort.  Those 
who  would  have  us  think  that  they  have 
attained  to  some  sublime  height  of  faith  and 
trust  because  they  never  know  any  agony  of 
conflict  or  of  prayer,  have  surely  gotten 
beyond  their  Lord,  and  beyond  the  mightiest 
victors  for  God,  both  in  eifort  and  prayer,  that 
the  ages  of  Christian  history  have  known. 
When  we  learn  to  come  to  God  with  an 
intensity  of  desire  that  wrings  the  soul,  then 
shall  we  know  a  power  in  prayer  that  most  of 
us  do  not  know  now. 

But  how  shall  we  attain  to  this  earnestness 
in  prayer? 

Not  by  trying  to  work  ourselves  up  into  it. 
The  true  method  is  explained  in  Rom.  8:26, 
"And  in  like  manner  the  Spirit  also  helpeth 
our  infirmity:  for  we  know  not  how  to  pray 
as  we  ought;  but  the  Spirit  Himself  maketh 
intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  can- 
not be  uttered."  (R.  V.)  The  earnestness 
that  we  work  up  in  the  energy  of  the  flesh  is 
a  repulsive  thing.  The  earnestness  wrought  in 
us  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  pleasing 
to  God.     Here  again,  if  we  would  pray  aright, 


PRATING    UNTO   GOD  37 

we  must  look  to  the  Spirit  of  God  to  teach  us 
to  pray. 

It  is  in  this  connect-ion  that  fasting  comes. 
In  Dan.  9:3  we  read  that  Daniel  set  his  face 
'*unto  the  Lord  God,  to  seek  by  prayer  and 
supplications,  with  fasting,  and  sackcloth,  and 
ashes."  There  are  those  who  think  that  fast- 
ing belongs  to  the  old  dispensation ;  but  when 
we  look  at  Acts  14:23,  and  Acts  13:2,  3,  we 
find  that  it  was  practised  by  the  earnest  men 
of  the  apostolic  day. 

If  we  would  pray  with  power,  we  should 
pray  with  fasting.  This  of  course  does  not 
mean  that  we  should  fast  every  time  we  pray; 
but  there  are  times  of  emergency  or  special 
crisis  in  work  or  in  our  individual  lives,  when 
men  of  downright  earnestness  will  withdraw 
themselves  even  from  the  gratification  of 
natural  appetites  that  would  be  perfectly 
proper  under  other  circumstances,  that  they 
may  give  themselves  up  wholly  to  prayer. 
There  is  a  peculiar  power  in  such  prayer. 
Every  great  crisis  in  life  and  work  should  be 
met  in  that  way.  There  is  nothing  pleasing  to 
God  in  our  giving  up  in  a  purely  Pharisaic  and 
legal  way  things  which  are  pleasant,  but  there 
is  power  in  that  downright    earnestness  and 


38  HOW   TO   PRAY 

determination  to  obtain  in  prayer  the  things 
of  which  we  sorely  feel  our  need,  that  leads  us 
to  put  away  everything,  even  things  in  them- 
selves most  right  and  necessary,  that  we  may 
set  our  faces  to  find  God,  and  obtain  blessings 
from  Him. 

3.  A  third  secret  of  right  praying  is  also 
found  in  this  same  verse,  Acts  12:5.  It 
appears  in  the  three  words  *'^/*  the  church.** 

There  is  power  in  united  prayer.  Of  course 
there  is  power  in  the  prayer  of  an  individual, 
but  there  is  vastly  increased  power  in  united 
prayer.  God  delights  in  the  unity  of  His  peo- 
ple, and  seeks  to  emphasize  it  in  every  way, 
and  so  He  pronounces  a  special  blessing  upon 
united  prayer.  We  read  in  Matt.  18:19,  **!£ 
two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done 
for  them  of  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven. ' ' 
This  unity,  however,  must  be  real.  The  pas- 
sage just  quoted  does  not  say  that  if  two  shall 
agree  in  asking,  but  if  two  shall  agree  as  touch- 
ing anything  they  shall  ask.  Two  persons 
might  agree  to  ask  for  the  same  thing,  and 
yet  there  be  no  real  agreement  as  touching  the 
thing  they  asked.  One  might  ask  it  because  he 
really  desired  it,  the  other  might  ask  it  simply 


PRAYING    UNTO   GOD 


39 


to  please  his  friend.  But  where  there  is  real 
agreement,  where  the  Spirit  of  God  brings  two 
believers  into  perfect  harmony  as  concerning 
that  which  they  may  ask  of  God,  where  the 
Spirit  lays  the  same  burden  on  two  hearts;  in 
all  such  prayer  there  is  absolutely  irresistible 
power. 


CHAPTER   III 

OBEYING    AND    PRAYING 

I.  One  of  the  most  significant  verses  in  the 
Bible  on  prayer  is  i  John  3:22.  John  says, 
**And  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  receive  of  Him, 
because  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  do 
those  things  that  are  pleasing  in  His  sight." 

What  an  astounding  statement!  John  says, 
in  so  many  words,  that  everything  he  asked 
for  he  got.  How  many  of  us  can  say  this: 
** Whatsoever  I  ask  I  receive"?  But  John 
explains  why  this  was  so,  "Because  we  keep 
His  commandments,  and  do  those  things  that 
are  pleasing  in  His  sight."  In  other  words, 
the  one  who  expects  God  to  do  as  he  asks  Him, 
must  on  his  part  do  whatever .  God  bids  him. 
If  we  give  a  listening  ear  to  all  God's  com- 
mands to  us.  He  will  give  a  listening  ear  to  all 
our  petitions  to  Him.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  His  precepts.  He  will  be 
likely  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  our  prayers.     Here 

we  find  the  secret  of  much  unanswered  prayer, 
40 


OBEYING    AND    PRAYING  41 

We  are  not  listening  to  God's  Word,  and  there- 
fore He  is  not  listening  to  our  petitions. 

I  was  once  speaking  to  a  woman  who  had 
been  a  professed  Christian,  but  had  given  it  all 
up.  I  asked  her  why  she  was  not  a  Christian 
still.  She  replied,  because  she  did  not  believe 
the  Bible.  I  asked  her  why  she  did  not  believe 
the  Bible. 

"Because  I  have  tried  its  promises  and  found 
them  untrue." 

** Which  promises?" 

**The  promises  about  prayer." 

** Which  promises  about  prayer?" 

**Does  it  not  say  in  the  Bible,  *  Whatsoever 
ye  ask  believing  ye  shall  receive'  ?" 

*'It  says  something  nearly  like  that." 

**Well,  I  asked  fully  expecting  to  get  and  did 
not  receive,  so  the  promise  failed." 

"Was  the  promise  made  to  you?" 

"Why,  certainly,  it  is  made  to  all  Christians, 
is  it  not?" 

"No,  God  carefully  defines  who  the  ^ye's^ 
are,  whose  believing  prayers  He  agrees  to 
answer." 

I  then  turned  her  to  i  John  3:22,  and  read 
the  description  of  those  whose  prayers  had 
power  w^ith  God. 


42  HOW  TO   PRAY 

**Now,"  I  said,  *'were  you  keeping  His 
commandments  and  doing  those  things  which 
are  pleasing  in  His  sight?" 

She  frankly  confessed  that  she  was  not,  and 
soon  came  to  see  that  the  real  difficulty  was 
not  with  God's  promises,  but  with  herself. 
That  is  the  difficulty  with  many  an  unan- 
swered prayer  to-day ;  the  one  who  offers  it  is 
not  obedient. 

If  we  would  have  power  in  prayer,  we  must 
be  earnest  students  of  His  Word  to  find  out 
what  His  will  regarding  us  is,  and  then  having 
found  it,  do  it.  One  unconfessed  act  of  dis- 
obedience on  our  part  will  shut  the  ear  of  God 
against  many  petitions. 

2.  But  this  verse  goes  beyond  the  mere  keep- 
ing of  God's  commandments.  John  tells  us 
that  we  must  do  those  things  that  are  pleasing 
in  His  sight. 

There  are  many  things  which  it  would  be 
pleasing  to  God  for  us  to  do  which  He  has  not 
specifically  commanded  us.  A  true  child  is  not 
content  with  merely  doing  those  things  which 
his  father  specifically  commands  him  to  do. 
He  studies  to  know  his  father's  will,  and  if  he 
thinks  that  there  is  any  thing  that  he  can 
do  that  would  please  his  father,  he  does  it 


OBEYING    AND    PRAYING  43 

gladly,  though  his  father  has  never  given  him 
any  specific  order  to  do  it.  So  it  is  with  the 
true  child  of  God.  He  does  not  ask  merely 
whether  certain  things  are  commanded  or 
certain  things  forbidden.  He  studies  to  know 
his  Father's  will  in  all  things. 

There  are  many  Christians  to-day  who  are 
doing  things  that  are  not  pleasing  to  God,  and 
leaving  undone  things  which  would  be  pleasing 
to  God.  When  you  speak  to  them  about  these 
things  they  will  confront  you  at  once  with  the 
question,  "Is  there  any  command  in  the  Bible 
not  to  do  this  thing?"  And  if  you  cannot  show 
them  some  yerse  in  which  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion is  plainly  forbidden,  they  think  they  are 
under  no  obligation  whatever  to  give  it  up; 
but  a  true  child  of  God  does  not  demand  a 
specific  command.  If  we  make  it  our  study  to 
find  out  and  to  do  the  things  which  are  pleas- 
ing to  God,  He  will  make  it  His  study  to  do 
the  things  which  are  pleasing  to  us.  Here 
again  we  find  the  explanation  of  much  un- 
answered prayer:  We  are  not  making  it  the 
study  of  our  lives  to  know  what^would  please 
our  Father,  and  so  our  prayers  are  not 
answered. 

Take  as  an  illustration  of  questions  that  are 


44  HOW   TO   PRAY 

constantly  coming  up,  the  matter  of  theater- 
going, dancing  and  the  use  of  tobacco.  Many 
who  are  indulging  in  these  things  will  ask  you 
triumphantly  if  you  speak  against  them,  "Does 
the  Bible  say,  'Thou  shalt  not  go  to  the 
theater'?"  "Does  the  Bible  say,  'Thou  shalt 
not  dance'?"  "Does  the  Bible  say,  'Thou 
shalt  not  smoke'?"  That  is  not  the  question. 
The  question  is.  Is  our  heavenly  Father  well 
pleased  when  He  sees  one  of  His  children  in 
the  theater,  at  the  dance,  or  smoking?  That 
is  a  question  for  each  to  decide  for  himself, 
prayerfully,  seeking  light  from  the  Holy 
Spirit.  "Where  is  the  harm  in  these  things?" 
many  ask.  It  is  aside  from  our  purpose  to  go 
into  the  general  question,  but  beyond  a  doubt 
there  is  this  great  harm  in  many  a  case ;  they 
rob  our  prayers  of  power. 

3.  Psalm  145:18  throws  a  great  deal  of  light 
on  the  question  of  how  to  pray:  "The  Lord 
is  nigh  unto  all  them  that  call  upon  Him,  to  all 
that  call  upon  Him  in  truth.'* 

That  little  expression  "in  truth"  is  worthy 
of  study.  If  you  will  take  your  concordance 
and  go  through  the  Bible,  you  will  find  that 
this  expression  means  "in  reality,"  "in  sin- 
cerity. ' '     The  prayer  that  God  answers  is  the 


OBEYING    AND    PRAYING 


45 


prayer  that  is  real,  the  prayer  that  asks  for 
something  that  is  sincerely  desired. 

Much  prayer  is  insincere.  People  ask  for 
things  which  they  do  not  wish.  Many  a  woman 
is  praying  for  the  conversion  of  her  husband, 
who  does  not  really  wish  her  husband  to  be 
converted.  She  thinks  that  she  does,  but  if 
she  knew  what  would  be  involved  in  the  con- 
version of  her  husband,  how  it  would  neces- 
sitate an  entire  revolution  in  his  manner  of 
doing  business,  and  how  consequently  it  would 
reduce  their  income  and  make  necessary  an 
entire  change  in  their  method  of  living,  the  real 
prayer  of  her  heart  would  be,  if  she  were  to  be 
sincere  with  God : 

*'0  God,  do  not  convert  my  husband." 

She  does  not  wish  his  conversion  at  so  great 
cost. 

Many  a  church  is  praying  for  a  revival  that 
does  not  really  desire  a  revival.  They  think 
they  do,  for  to  their  minds  a  reviv^al  means  an 
increase  of  membership,  an  increase  of  income, 
an  increase  of  reputation  among  the  churches; 
but  if  they  knew  what  a  real  revival  meant, 
what  a  searching  of  hearts  on  the  part  of  pro- 
fessed Christians  would  be  involved,  what  a 
ladical  transformation  of  individual,  domestic 


46  HOW   TO   PRAY 

and  social  life  would  be  brought  about,  and 
many  other  things  that  would  come  to  pass  if 
the  Spirit  of  God  was  poured  out  in  reality  and 
power;  if  all  this  were  known,  the  real  cry  of 
the  church  would  be: 

*'0  God,  keep  us  from  having  a  revival." 

Many  a  minister  is  praying  for  the  baptism 
with  the  Holy  Spirit  who  does  not  really 
desire  it.  He  thinks  he  does,  for  the  baptisni 
with  the  Spirit  means  to  him  new  joy,  new 
power  in  preaching  the  Word,  a  wider  reputa^ 
tion  among  men,  a  larger  prominence  in  the 
church  of  Christ.  But  if  he  understood  what 
a  baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit  really  involved, 
how  for  example  it  would  necessarily  bring 
him  into  antagonism  with  the  world,  and  with 
unspiritual  Christians,  how  it  would  cause  his 
name  to  be  '^cast  out  as  evil,"  how  it  might 
necessitate  his  leaving  a  good  comfortable 
living  and  going  down  to  work  in  the  slums, 
or  even  in  some  foreign  land;  if  he  understood 
all  this,  his  prayer  quite  likely  would  be — if  he 
were  to  express  the  real  wish  of  his  heart, — 

*'0  God,  save  me  from  being  baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

But  when  we  do  come  t-^  the  place  where  we 
really  desire  the  conversion  of  friends  at  any 


OBEYING   AND    PRAYING  47 

cost,  really  desire  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  whatever  it  may  involve,  really  desire 
the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  come  what 
come  may,  where  we  desire  anything  "in 
truth"  and  then  call  upon  God  for  it  "in 
truth,"  God  is  going  to  hear. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PRAYING     IN     THE    NAME     OF     CHRIST    AND    AC- 
CORDING  TO   THE    WILL   OF   GOD 

I.  It  was  a  wonderful  word  about  prayer 
that  Jesus  spoke  to  His  disciples  on  the  night 
before  His  crucifixion,  *' Whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  in  My  name^  that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father 
may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.  If  ye  shall  ask 
anything  in  My  name,  I  will  do  it. ' ' 

Prayer  in  the  name  of  Christ  has  power  with 
God.  God  is  well  pleased  with  His  Son  Jesus 
Christ.  He  hears  Him  always,  and  He  also 
hears  always  the  prayer  that  is  really  in  His 
name.  There  is  a  fragrance  in  the  name  of 
Christ  that  makes  acceptable  to  God  every 
prayer  that  bears  it. 

But  what  is  it  to  pray  in  the  name  of  Christ? 

Many  explanations  have  been  attempted  that 

to  ordinary  minds  do  not  explain.     But  there 

is  nothing  mystical  or   mysterious  about  this 

expression.     If  one  will  go  through  the  Bible 

and  examine  all    the    passages  in  which  the 

expression  "in  My  name"  or  "in  His  name'" 
48 


PRAYING   IN   THE   NAME   OF   CHRIST         49 

or  synonymous  expressions  are  used,  he  will 
find  that  it  means  just  about  what  it  does  in 
modern  usage.  If  I  go  to  a  bank  and  hand  in 
a  check  with  my  name  signed  to  it,  I  ask  of 
that  bank  /;/  my  own  name.  If  I  have  money 
deposited  in  that  bank,  the  check  will  be 
cashed;  if  not,  it  will  not  be.  If,  however,  I 
go  to  a  bank  with  somebody's  else  name 
signed  to  the  check,  I  am  asking  in  his  name^ 
and  it  does  not  matter  whether  I  have  money 
in  that  bank  or  any  other,  if  the  person  whose 
name  is  signed  to  the  check  has  money  there, 
the  check  will  be  cashed. 

If,  for  example,  I  should  go  to  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Chicago,  and  present  a  check 
which  I  had  signed  for  $50.00,  the  paying 
teller  would  say  to  me: 

*'Why,  Mr.  Torrey,  we  cannot  cash  that. 
You  have  no  money  in  this  bank." 

But  if  I  should  go  to  the  First  National  Bank 
with  a  check  for  $5, 000. 00  made  payable  to  me, 
and  signed  by  one  of  the  large  depositors  in 
that  bank,  they  would  not  ask  whether  I  had 
money  in  that  bank  or  in  any  bank,  but  would 
honor  the  check  at  once. 

So  it  is  when  I  go  to  the  bank  of  heaven, 
when  I  go  to  God  in  prayer.     I  have  nothing 


50  HOW   TO   PRAY 

deposited  there,  I  have  absolutely  no  credit 
there,  and  if  I  go  in  my  own  name  I  will  get 
absolutely  nothing;  but  Jesus  Christ  has  un- 
limited credit  in  heaven,  and  He  has  granted 
to  me  the  privilege  of  going  to  the  bank  with 
His  name  on  my  checks,  and  when  I  thus  go, 
my  prayers  will  be  honored  to  any  extent. 

To  pray  then  in  the  name  of  Christ  is  to 
pray  on  the  ground,  not  of  my  credit,  but 
His;  to  renounce  the  thought  that  I  have  any 
claims  on  God  whatever,  and  approach  Him 
on  the  ground  of  Christ's  claims.  Praying  in 
the  name  of  Christ  is  not  merely  adding  the 
phrase  **I  ask  these  things  in  Jesus*  name" 
to  my  prayer.  I  may  put  that  phrase  in  my 
prayer  and  really  be  resting  in  my  own  merit 
all  the  time.  On  the  other  hand,  I  may  omit 
that  phrase  but  really  be  resting  in  the  merit 
of  Christ  all  the  time.  But  when  I  really  do 
approach  God,  not  on  the  ground  of  my  merit, 
but  on  the  ground  of  Christ's  merit,  not  on  the 
ground  of  my  goodness,  but  on  the  ground  of 
the  atoning  blood  (Heb.  10:19),  God  will  hear 
me.  Very  much  of  our  modern  prayer  is  vain 
because  men  approach  God  imagining  that 
they  have  some  claim  upon  God  whereby  He  is 
under  obligations  to  answer  their  prayers. 


PRAYING    IN   THE    NAME   OF   CHRIST         5I 

Years  ago  when  Mr.  Moody  was  young  in 
Christian  work,  he  visited  a  town  in  Illinois. 
A  judge  in  the  town  was  an  infidel.  This 
judge's  wife  besought  Mr.  Moody  to  call  upon 
her  husband,  but  Mr.  Moody  replied: 

•'I  cannot  talk  with  your  husband.  I  am 
only  an  uneducated  young  Christian,  and  your 
husband  is  a  book  infidel." 

But  the  wife  would  not  take  no  for  an 
answer,  so  Mr.  Moody  made  the  call.  The 
clerks  in  the  outer»office  tittered  as  the  young 
salesman  from  Chicago  went  in  to  talk  with 
the  scholarly  judge. 

The  conversation  was  short.  Mr. Moody  said: 

"Judge,  I  can't  talk  with  you.  You  are  a 
book  infidel,  and  I  have  no  learning,  but  I 
simply  want  to  say  if  you  are  ever  converted, 
I  want  you  to  let»me  know. ' ' 

The  judge  replied:  "Yes,  young  man,  if  I 
am  ever  converted  I  will  let  you  know.  Yes,  I 
will  let  you  know. ' ' 

The  conversation  ended.  The  clerks  tittered 
still  louder  when  the  zealous  young  Christian 
left  the  office,  but  the  judge  was  converted 
within  a  year.  Mr.  Moody  visiting  the  town 
again  asked  the  judge  to  explain  how  it  came 
about.     The  judge  said: 


53  HOW   TO   PRAY 

**One  night,  when  my  wife  was  at  prayer- 
meeting,  I  began  to  grow  very  uneasy  and 
miserable.  I  did  not  know  what  was  the 
matter  with  me,  but  finally  retired  before  my 
wife  came  home.  I  could  not  sleep  all  that 
night.  I  got  up  early,  told  my  wife  that  I 
would  eat  no  breakfast,  and  went  down  to  the 
office.  I  told  the  clerks  they  could  take  a 
holiday,  and  shut  myself  up  in  the  inner  office, 
I  kept  growing  more  and  more  miserable,  and 
finally  I  got  down  and  asked  God  to  forgive 
my  sins,  but  I  would  not  say  'for  Jesus'  sake,' 
for  I  was  a  Unitarian  and  I  did  not  believe  in 
the  atonement.  I  kept  praying  'God  forgive 
my  sins';  but  no  answer  came.  At  last  in 
desperation  I  cried,  *0  God,  for  Christ's 
sake  forgive  my  sins,'  and  found  peace  at 
once." 

The  judge  had  no  access  to  God  until  he 
came  in  the  name  of  Christ,  but  when  he  thus 
came,  he  was  heard  and  answered  at  once. 

2.  Great  light  is  thrown  upon  the  subject 
•*How  to  Pray"  by  i  John  5:14,  15:  *'And 
this  is  the  boldness  which  we  have  toward 
Him,  that  if  we  ask  anything  according  to 
His  Will,  He  heareth  us:  and  if  we  know  that 
He  heareth  us  whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know 


PRAYING    IN   THE    NAME   OF   CHRIST         53 

that  we  have  the  petitions  which  we  have  asked 
of  Him."   (R.  V.) 

This  passage  teaches  us  plainly  that  if  we 
are  to  pray  aright,  we  must  pray  according  to 
God's  will,  then  will  we  beyond  a  peradven- 
ture  get  the  thing  we  ask  of  Him. 

But  can  we  know  the  will  of  God?  Can  we 
know  that  any  specific  prayer  is  according  to 
His  will? 

We  most  surely  can. 

How? 

(i)  First  by  the  Word.  God  has  revealed 
His  will  in  His  Word.  When  anything  is 
definitely  promised  in  the  Word  of  God,  we 
know  that  it  is  His  will  to  give  that  things  If 
then  when  I  pray,  I  can  find  some  definite 
promise  of  God's  Word  and  lay  that  promise 
before  God,  I  know  that  He  hears  me,  and  if 
I  know  that  He  hears  me,  I  know  that  I  have 
the  petition  that  I  have  asked  of  Him.  For 
example,  when  I  pray  for  wisdom  I  know  that 
it  is  the  will  of  God  to  give  me  wisdom,  for 
He  says  so  in  James  i  .-5 :  **If  any  of  you  lack 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all 
men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall 
be  given  him."  So  when  I  ask  for  wisdom  I 
know    that    the    prayer    is    heard,    and   that 


54  HOW  TO  PRAY 

wisdom  will  be  given  me.  In  like  manner 
when  I  pray  for  the  Holy  Spirit  I  know  from 
Luke  11:13  that  it  is  God's  will,  that  my 
prayer  is  heard,  and  that  I  have  the  petition 
that  I  have  asked  of  Him:  *'If  ye  then,  being 
evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly 
Father  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
Him?" 

Some  years  ago  a  minister  came  to  me  at 
the  close  of  an  address  on  prayer  at  a  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  Bible  school,  and  said, 

*'You  have  produced  upon  those  young  men 
the  impression  that  they  can  ask  for  definite 
things  and  get  the  very  things  that  they  ask." 

I  replied  that  I  did  not  know  whether  that 
was  the  impression  that  I  produced  or  not, 
but  that  was  certainly  the  impression  that  I 
desired  to  produce. 

**But,"  he  replied,  ''that  is  not  right.  We 
cannot  be  sure,  for  we  don't  know  God's  will." 

I  turned  him  at  once  to  James  1:5,  read  it 
and  said  to  him,  **Is  it  not  God's  will  to  give 
us  wisdom,  and  if  you  ask  for  wisdom  do  you 
not  know  that  you  are  going  to  get  it?" 

••Ah!"  he  said,  'Ve  don't  know  what 
wisdom  is.** 


PRAYING   tN   THE   NAME   OF   CHRIST         55 

I  said,  *'No,  if  we  did,  we  would  not  need 
to  ask;  but  whatever  wisdom  may  be,  don't 
you  know  that  you  will  get  it?" 

Certainly  it  is  our  privilege  to  know.  When 
we  have  a  specific  promise  in  the  Word  of  God, 
if  we  doubt  that  it  is  God's  will,  or  if  we 
doubt  that  God  will  do  the  thing  that  we  ask, 
we  make  God  a  liar. 

Here  is  one  of  the  greatest  secrets  of  prev 
vailing  prayer:  To  study  the  Word  to  find 
what  God's  will  is  as  revealed  there  in  the 
promises,  and  then  simply  take  these  promises 
and  spread  them  out  before  God  in  prayer  with 
the  absolutely  unwavering  expectation  that  He 
will  do  what  He  has  promised  in  His  Word. 

(2)  But  there  is  still  another  way  in  which 
we  may  know  the  will  of  God,  that  is,  by  the 
teaching  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  There  are  many 
things  that  we  need  from  God  which  are  not 
covered  by  any  specific  promise,  but  we  are 
not  left  in  ignorance  of  the  will  of  God  even 
then.  In  Rom.  8:26,  27  we  are  told,  "And  in 
like  manner  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 
infirmity:  for  we  know  not  how  to  pray  as 
we  ought;  but  the  Spirit  Himself  maketh 
intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  can- 
not be  uttered;  and    He    that    searcheth  the 


56  HOW   TO   PRAY 

hearts  knoweth  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Spirit, 
because  He  maketh  intercession  for  the  saints 
according  to  the  will  of  God.''  (R.  V.)  Here 
we  are  distinctly  told  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
prays  in  us,  draws  out  our  prayer,  in  the  line 
of  God's  will.  When  we  are  thus  led  out  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  any  direction,  to  pray  for  any 
given  object,  we  may  do  it  in  all  confidence 
that  it  is  God's  will,  and  that  we  are  to  get  the 
very  thing  we  ask  of  Him,  even  though  there 
is  no  specific  promise  to  cover  the  case.  Often 
God  by  His  Spirit  lays  upon  us  a  heavy  burden 
of  prayer  for  some  given  individual.  We  can- 
not rest,  we  pray  for  him  with  groanings 
which  cannot  be  uttered.  Perhaps  the  man  is 
entirely  beyond  our  reach,  but  God  hears  the 
prayer,  and  in  many  a  case  it  is  not  long  before 
we  hear  of  his  definite  conversion. 

The  passage  i  John  5:14,  15  is  one  of  the 
most  abused  passages  in  the  Bible:  *'Thisis 
the  confidence  that  we  have  in  Him,  that,  if 
we  ask  anything  according  to  His  will,  He 
heareth  us;  and  if  we  know  that  He  hear  us, 
whatsoever  we  ask,  we  know  that  we  have  the 
petitions  that  we  desired  of  Him."  The  Holy 
Spirit  beyond  a  doubt  put  it  into  the  Bible  to 
encourage  our  faith.     It  begins  with  "This  is 


PRAYING    IN    THE    NAME    OF    CHRIST         57 

the  confidence  that  we  have  in  Him,"  and 
closes  with  ''''We  know  that  we  have  the 
petitions  that  we  desired  of  Him"  ;  but  one  of 
the  most  frequent  usages  of  this  passage,  which 
was  so  manifestly  given  to  beget  confidence,  is 
to  introduce  an  element  of  uncertainty  into  our 
prayers.  Oftentimes  when  one  waxes  con- 
fident in  prayer,  some  cautious  brother  will 
come  and  say: 

"Now,  don't  be  too  confident.  If  it  is  God's 
will  He  will  do  it.  You  should  put  in,  *If  it 
be  Thy  will.'  " 

Doubtless  there  are  many  times  when  we  do 
not  know  the  will  of  God,  and  in  all  prayer 
submission  to  the  excellent  will  of  God  should 
underlie  it;  but  when  we  know  God's  will, 
there  need  be  no  "ifs";  and  this  passage  was 
not  put  into  the  Bible  in  order  that  we  might 
introduce  "ifs"  into  all  our  prayers,  but  in 
order  that  we  might  throw  our  "ifs"  to  the 
wind,  and  have  ''''confidence''  and  '"''know  that 
we  have  the  petitions  which  we  have  asked  of 
Him." 


CHAPTER  V 

PRAYING    IN    THE    SPIRIT 

I.  Over  and  over  again  in  what  has  already 
been  said,  we  have  seen  our  dependence  upon 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  prayer.  This  comes  out 
very  definitely  in  Eph.  6:i8,  "Praying  always 
with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit^** 
and  in  Jude  20,  "Praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost.'* 
Indeed  the  whole  secret  of  prayer  is  found  in 
these  three  words,  "in  the  Spirit/*  It  is  the 
prayer  that  God  the  Holy  Spirit  inspires  that 
God  the  Father  answers. 

The  disciples  did  not  know  how  to  pray  as 

they  ought,  so  they  came  to  Jesus  and  said, 

"Lord  teach  us  to  pray."     We  know  not  how 

to  pray  as  we   ought,  but   we  have   another 

Teacher    and   Guide    right   at    hand    to  help 

us  (John   14:16,  17),  "The  Spirit  helpeth  our 

infirmity"  (Rom.  8:26,  R.  V.).     He  teaches  us 

how  to  pray.     True    prayer  is  prayer  in  the 

Spirit;  that  is,  the  prayer  the  Spirit  inspires 

and    directs.     When     we     come    into     God*s 

presence  we  should  recognize  "our  infirmity," 

our  ignorance  of  what  we  should  pray  for  or 

how  we  should   pray  for   it,  and  in  the  con- 
58 


PRAYING   IN   THE   SPIRIT  '59 

sciousness  of  our  utter  inability  to  pray  aright 
we  should  look  up  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  casting 
ourselves  utterly  upon  Him  to  diredt  our 
prayers,  to  lead  out  our  desires  and  to  guide 
our  utterance  of  them. 

Nothing  can  be  more  foolish  in  prayer  than 
to  rush  heedlessly  into  God's  presence,  and  ask 
the  first  thing  that  comes  into  our  mind,  or 
that  some  thoughtless  friend  has  asked  us  to 
pray  for.  When  we  first  come  into  God's 
presence  we  should  be  silent  before  Him.  We 
should  look  up  to  Him  to  send  His  Holy  Spirit 
to  teach  us  how  to  pray.  We  must  wait  for 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  surrender  ourselves  to 
the  Spirit,  then  we  shall  pray  aright. 

Oftentimes  when  we  come  to  God  in  prayer, 
we  do  not  feel  like  praying.  What  shall  one 
do  in  such  a  case?  cease  praying  until  he  does 
feel  like  it?  Not  at  all.  When  we  feel  least 
like  praying  is  the  time  when  we  most  need  to 
pray.  We  should  wait  quietly  before  God  and 
tell  Him  how  cold  and  prayerless  our  hearts 
are,  and  look  up  to  Him  and  trust  Him  and 
expect  Him  to  send  the  Holy  Spirit  to  warm 
our  hearts  and  draw  them  out  in  prayer.  It 
will  not  be  long  before  the  glow  of  the  Spirit's 
presence  will  fill  our  hearts,  and  we  will  begin 


60  HOW   TO   PRAY 

to  pray  with  freedom,  directness,  earnestness 
and  power.  Many  of  the  most  blessed  seasons 
of  prayer  I  have  ever  known  have  begun  with 
a  feeling  of  utter  deadness  and  prayerlessness; 
but  in  my  helplessness  and  coldness  I  have 
cast  myself  upon  God,  and  looked  to  Him  to 
send  His  Holy  Spirit  to  teach  me  to  pray,  and 
He  has  done  it. 

When  we  pray  in  the  Spirit,  we  will  pray  for 
the  right  things  and  in  the  right  way.  There 
will  be  joy  and  power  in  our  prayer. 

2.  If  we  are  to  pray  v/ith  power  we  must 
pray  with  faith.  In  Mark  11:24  Jesus  says, 
*' Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  What  things  so- 
ever ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye 
receive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them."  No 
matter  how  positive  any  promise  of  God's 
Word  may  be,  we  will  not  enjoy  it  in  actual 
experience  unless  we  confidently  expect  its 
fulfillment  in  answer  to  our  prayer.  *'If  any 
of  you  lack  wisdom,"  says  James,  **let  him  ask 
of  God  that  giveth  to  all  men  liberally,  and 
upbraideth  not;  and  it  shall  be  given  him." 
Now  that  promise  is  as  positive  as  a  promise 
can  be,  but  the  next  verse  adds,  "But  let  him 
ask  in  faith,  nothing  doubting:  for  he  that 
doubteth  is  like  the  surge  of  the  sea  driven  by 


PRAYING   IN  THE   SPIRIT  6l 

the  wind  and  tossed.  For  let  not  that  man 
think  that  he  shall  receive  anything  of  the 
Lord."  (R.  V.)  There  must  then  be  confident 
unwavering  expectation.  But  there  is  a  faith 
that  goes  beyond  expectation,  that  believes 
that  the  prayer  is  heard  and  the  promise 
granted.  This  comes  out  in  the  Revised 
Version  of  Mark  11:24,  **Therefore  I  say  unto 
you,  All  things  whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask 
for,  believe  that  ye  have  received  them,  and 
ye  shall  have  them." 

But  how  can  one  get  this  faith? 

Let  us  say  with  all  emphasis,  it  cannot  be 
pumped  up.  Many  a  one  reads  this  promise 
about  the  prayer  of  faith,  and  then  asks  for 
things  that  he  desires  and  tries  to  make  him- 
self believe  that  God  has  heard  the  prayer. 
This  ends  only  in  disappointment,  for  it  is  not 
real  faith  and  the  thing  is  not  granted.  It  is 
at  this  point  that  many  people  make  a  collapse 
of  faith  altogether  by  trying  to  work  up  faith 
by  an  effort  of  their  will,  and  as  the  thing  they 
made  themselves  believe  they  expected  to  get 
is  not  given,  the  very  foundation  of  faith  is 
oftentimes  undermined. 

But  how  does  real  faith  come? 

Rom.  10:17  answers  the  question:  "So  then 


6a  HOW   TO   PRAY 

faith  Cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
Word  of  God.''  If  we  are  to  have  real  faith, 
we  must  study  the  Word  of  God  and  find  out 
what  is  promised,  then  simply  believe  the 
promises  of  God.  Faith  must  have  a  warrant. 
Trying  to  believe  something  that  you  want  to 
believe  is  not  faith.  Believing  what  God  says 
in  His  Word  is  faith.  If  I  am  to  have  faith, 
when  I  pray,  I  must  find  some  promise  in  the 
Word  of  God  on  which  to  rest  my  faith.  Faith 
furthermore  comes  through  the  Spirit.  The 
Spirit  knows  the  will  of  God,  and  if  I  pray  in 
the  Spirit,  and  look  to  the  Spirit  to  teach  me 
God's  will,  He  will  lead  me  out  in  prayer 
along  the  line  of  that  will,  and  give  me  faith 
that  the  prayer  is  to  be  answered ;  but  in  no 
case  does  real  faith  come  by  simply  determin- 
ing that  you  are  going  to  get  the  thing  that 
you  want  to  get.  If  there  is  no  promise  in 
the  Word  of  God,  and  no  clear  leading  of  the 
Spirit,  there  can  be  no  real  faith,  and  there 
should  be  no  upbraiding  of  self  for  lack  of 
faith  in  such  a  case.  But  if  the  thing  desired 
is  promised  in  the  Word  of  God,  we  may  well 
upbraid  ourselves  for  lack  of  faith  if  we  doubt ; 
for  we  are  making  God  a  liar  by  doubting 
His  Word. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ALWAYS    PRAYING    AND    NOT   FAINTING 

In  two  parables  in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  Jesus 
teaches  with  great  emphasis  the  lesson  that 
men  ought  always  to  pray  and  not  to  faint. 
The  first  parable  is  found  in  Luke  11:5-8,  and 
the  other  in  Luke  18:1-8. 

*'And  He  said  unto  them,  Which  of  you 
shall  have  a  friend,  and  shall  go  unto  him  at 
midnight,  and  say  unto  him:  *  Friend,  lend  me 
three  loaves ;  for  a  friend  of  mine  in  his  journey- 
is  come  to  me,  and  I  have  nothing  to  set  before 
him?  And  he  from  within  shall  answer  and 
say:  'Trouble  me  not:  the  door  is  now  shut, 
and  my  children  are  with  me  in  bed.  I  cannot 
rise  and  give  thee. '  I  say  unto  you.  Though 
he  will  not  rise  and  give  him  because  he  is  his 
friend,  yet  because  of  his  importunity  he  will 
rise  and  give  him  as  many  as  he  needeth. " 
(Luke  II  :5-8.) 

**And  He  spake  a  parable  unto  them  to  this 
end,  that  men  always  ought  to  pray  and  not  to 
faint,  saying:    There    was  in  a  city  a  judge 
63 


64  HOW   TO   PRAY 

which  feared  not  God,  neither  regarded  man; 
and  there  was  a  widow  in  that  city;  and  she 
came  to  him,  saying: 

"  'Avenge  me  of  mine  adversary/ 

**And  he  would  not  for  a  while;  but  after- 
ward he  said  within  himself:  'Though  I  fear 
not  God,  nor  regard  man,  yet  because  this 
widow  troubleth  me  I  will  avenge  her,  lest  by 
her  continual  coming  she  weary  me.' 

"And  the  Lord  said,  Hear  what  the  unjust 
judge  saith.  And  shall  not  God  avenge  His 
own  elect,  which  cry  day  and  night  unto  Him, 
though  He  bear  long  with  them?  I  tell  you 
that  He  will  avenge  them  speedily.  Never- 
theless when  the  Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  He 
find  faith  on  the  earth?"   (Luke  i8:i-8.) 

In  the  former  of  these  two  parables  Jesus 
sets  forth  the  necessity  of  importunity  in 
prayer  in  a  startling  way.  The  word  rendered 
•'importunity"  means  literally  "shameless- 
ness,"  as  if  Jesus  would  have  us  understand 
that  God  would  have  us  draw  nigh  to  Him 
with  a  determination  to  obtain  the  things  we 
seek  that  will  not  be  put  to  shame  by  any 
seeming  refusal  or  delay  on  God's  part.  God 
delights  in  the  holy  boldness  that  will  not  take 
"no"  for  an  answer.     It  is  an  expression  of 


ALWAYS    PRAYING   AND    NOT   FAINTING      65 

great  faith,  and  nothing  pleases  God  more 
than  faith. 

Jesus  seemed  to  put  the  Syro- Phoenician 
woman  away  almost  with  rudeness,  but  she 
would  not  be  put  away,  and  Jesus  looked  upon 
her  shameless  importunity  with  pleasure,  and 
said,  "O  woman,  great  is  thy  faith:  be  it  unto 
thee  even  as  thou  wilt."  (Matt.  15:28.)  God 
does  not  always  let  us  get  things  at  our  first 
effort.  He  would  train  us  and  make  us  strong 
men  by  compelling  us  to  work  hard  for  the 
best  things.  So  also  He  does  not  always  give 
us  what  we  ask  in  answer  to  the  first  prayer; 
He  would  train  us  and  make  us  strong  men  of 
prayer  by  compelling  us  to  pray  hard  for  the 
best  things.     He  makes  us  pray  through. 

I  am  glad  that  this  is  so.  There  is  no  more 
blessed  training  in  prayer  than  that  that  comes 
through  being  compelled  to  ask  again  and 
again  and  again  even  through  a  long  period  of 
years  before  one  obtains  that  which  he  seeks 
from  God.  Many  people  call  it  submission  to 
the  will  of  God  when  God  does  not  grant  them 
their  requests  at  the  first  or  second  asking,  and 
they  say: 

**Well,  perhaps  it  is  not  God's  will." 

As  a  rule  this  is  not  submission,  but  spiritual 


66  HOW  TO   PRAY 

laziness.  We  do  not  call  it  submission  to  the 
will  of  God  when  we  give  up  after  one  or  two 
efforts  to  obtain  things  by  action;  we  call  it 
lack  of  strength  of  character.  When  the  strong 
man  of  action  starts  out  to  accomplish  a  thing, 
if  he  does  not  accomplish  it  the  first,  or  second 
or  one  hundredth  time,  he  keeps  hammering 
away  until  he  does  accomplish  it;  and  the 
strong  man  of  prayer  when  he  starts  to  pray 
for  a  thing  keeps  on  praying  until  he  prays  it 
through,  and  obtains  what  he  seeks.  We 
should  be  careful  about  what  we  ask  from  God, 
but  when  we  do  begin  to  pray  for  a  thing  we 
should  never  give  up  praying  for  it  until  we 
get  it,  or  until  God  makes  it  very  clear  and 
very  definite  to  us  that  it  is  not  His  will  to 
give  it. 

Some  would  have  us  believe  that  it  shows 
unbelief  to  pray  twice  for  the  same  thing,  that 
we  ought  to  *' take  it"  the  first  time  that  we  ask. 
Doubtless  there  are  times  when  we  are  able 
through  faith  in  the  Word  or  the  leading  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  clahn  the  first  time  that  which 
we  have  asked  of  God;  but  beyond  question 
there  are  other  times  when  we  must  pray  again 
and  again  and  again  for  the  same  thing  before 
we  get  our  answer.     Those  who  have  gotten 


ALWAYS    PRAYING   AND   NOT   FAINTING      67 

beyond  praying  twice  for  the  same  thing  have 
gotten  beyond  their  Master,  (Matt.  26:44). 
George  Muller  prayed  for  two  men  daily  for 
upwards  of  sixty  years.  One  of  these  men  was 
converted  shortly  before  his  death,  I  think  at 
the  last  service  that  George  Muller  held,  the 
other  was  converted  within  a  year  after  his 
death.  One  of  the  great  needs  of  the  present 
day  is  men  and  women  who  will  not  only  start 
out  to  pray  for  things,  but  pray  on  and  on  and 
on  until  they  obtain  that  which  they  seek  from 
the  Lord, 


CHAPTER  VII 

ABIDING    IN    CHRIST 

"If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in 
you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be 
done  unto  you."  (John  15 1'j.)  The  whole  secret 
of  prayer  is  found  in  these  words  of  our  Lord. 
Here  is  prayer  that  has  unbounded  power: 
**Ask  w/iat  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto 
you." 

There  is  a  way  then  of  asking  and  getting 
precisely  what  we  ask  and  getting  all  we  ask. 
Christ  gives  two  conditions  of  this  all-prevail- 
ing prayer: 

I.  The  first  condition  is,  *'If  ye  abide  in  Me. "' 

What  is  it  to  abide  in  Christ? 

Some  explanations  that  have  been  given  of 
this  are  so  mystical  or  so  profound  that  to 
many  simple-minded  children  of  God  they 
mean  practically  nothing  at  all;  but  what  Jesus 
meant  was  really  very  simple. 

He  had  been  comparing  Himself  to  a  vine, 

His    disciples    to  the  branches  in    the    vine. 

Some  branches  continued  in  the  vine,  that  is, 
63 


ABIDING   IN   CHRIST  69 

remained  in  living  union  with  the  vine,  so 
that  the  sap  or  life  of  the  vine  constantly  flowed 
into  these  branches.  They  had  no  independ- 
ent life  of  their  own.  Everything  in  them 
was  simply  the  outcome  of  the  life  of  the  vine 
flowing  into  them.  Their  buds,  their  leaves, 
their  blossoms,  their  fruit,  were  really  not 
theirs,  but  the  buds,  leaves,  blossoms  and 
fruit  of  the  vine.  Other  branches  were  com- 
pletely severed  from  the  vine,  or  else  the  flow 
of  the  sap  or  life  of  the  vine  into  them  was  in 
some  way  hindered.  Now  for  us  to  abide  in 
Christ  is  for  us  to  bear  the  same  relation  to 
Him  that  the  first  sort  of  branches  bear  to  the 
vine;  that  is  to  say,  to  abide  in  Christ  is  to 
renounce  any  independent  life  of  our  own,  to 
give  up  trying  to  think  our  thoughts,  or  form 
our  resolutions,  or  cultivate  our  feelings,  and 
simply  and  constantly  look  to  Christ  to  think 
His  thoughts  in  us,  to  form  His  purposes  in 
us,  to  feel  His  emotions  and  affections  in  us. 
It  is  to  renounce  all  life  independent  of  Christ, 
and  constantly  to  look  to  Him  for  the  inflow 
of  His  life  into  us,  and  the  outworking  of  His 
life  through  us.  When  we  do  this,  and  in  so 
far  as  we  do  this,  our  prayers  will  obtain  that 
which  we  seek  from  God. 


70  HOW   TO   PRAY 

This  must  necessarily  be  so,  for  our  desires 
will  not  be  our  own  desires,  but  Christ's,  and 
our  prayers  will  not  in  reality  be  our  own 
prayers,  but  Christ  praying  in  us.  Such 
prayers  will  always  be  in  harmony  with  God's 
will,  and  the  Father  heareth  Him  always. 
When  our  prayers  fail  it  is  because  they  are 
indeed  our  prayers.  We  have  conceived  the 
desire  and  framed  the  petition  of  ourselves, 
instead  of  looking  to  Christ  to  pray  through  us. 

To  say  that  one  should  be  abiding  in  Christ 
in  all  his  prayers,  looking  to  Christ  to  pray 
through  Him  rather  than  praying  himself,  is 
simply  saying  in  another  way  that  one  should 
pray  *'in  the  Spirit."  When  we  thus  abide  in 
Christ,  our  thoughts  are  not  our  own  thoughts, 
but  His,  our  joys  are  not  our  own  joys,  but 
His,  our  fruit  is  not  our  own  fruit,  but  His ;  just 
as  the  buds,  leaves,  blossoms  and  fruit  of  the 
branch  that  abides  in  the  vine  are  not  the 
buds,  leaves,  blossoms  and  fruit  of  the  branch, 
but  of  the  vine  itself  whose  life  is  flowing  into 
the  branch  and  manifests  itself  in  these  buds, 
leaves,  blossoms  and  fruit. 

To  abide  in  Christ,  one  must  of  course 
already  be  in  Christ  through  the  acceptance  of 
Christ  as  an  atoning  Savior  from  the  guilt  of 


ABIDING   IN   CHRIST  7I 

sin,  a  risen  Savior  from  the  power  of  sin,  and 
a  Lord  and  Master  over  all  his  life.  Being  in 
Christ,  all  that  we  have  to  do  to  abide  (or  con- 
tinue) in  Christ  is  simply  to  renounce  our  self- 
life — utterly  renouncing  every  thought,  every 
purpose,  every  desire,  every  affection  of  our 
own,  and  just  looking  day  by  day  and  hour  by 
hour  for  Jesus  Christ  to  form  His  thoughts, 
His  purposes,  His  affections,  His  desires  in  us. 
Abiding  in  Christ  is  really  a  very  simple 
matter,  though  it  is  a  wonderful  life  of 
privilege  and  of  power. 

2.  But  there  is  another  condition  stated  in 
this  verse,  though  it  is  really  involved  in  the 
first:     **And  My  words  abide  in  you." 

If  we  are  to  obtain  from  God  all  that  we  ask 
from  Him,  Christ's  words  must  abide  or  con- 
tinue in  us.  We  must  study  His  words,  fairly 
devour  His  words,  let  them  sink  into  our 
thought  and  into  our  heart,  keep  them  in  our 
memory,  obey  them  constantly  in  our  life,  let 
them  shape  and  mold  our  daily  life  and  our 
every  act. 

This  is  really  the  method  of  abiding  in 
Christ.  It  is  through  His  words  that  Jesus 
imparts  Himself  to  us.  The  words  He  speaks 
unto  us,  they  are  spirit  and  they  are  life  (John 


72  HOW  TO   PRAY 

6:63.)  It  IS  vain  to  expect  power  in  prayer 
unless  we  meditate  much  upon  the  words  of 
Christ,  and  let  them  sink  deep  and  find  a 
permanent  abode  in  our  hearts.  There  are 
many  who  wonder  why  they  are  so  powerless 
in  prayer,  but  the  very  simple  explanation  of 
it  all  is  found  in  their  neglect  of  the  words  of 
Christ.  They  have  not  hidden  His  words  in 
their  hearts;  His  words  do  not  abide  in 
them.  It  is  not  by  seasons  of  mystical  medita- 
tion and  rapturous  experiences  that  we  learn 
to  abide  in  Christ ;  it  is  by  feeding  upon  His 
word,  His  written  word  as  found  in  the  Bible, 
and  looking  to  the  Holy  Spirit  to  implant 
these  words  in  our  hearts  and  to  make  them  a 
living  thing  in  our  hearts.  If  we  thus  let  the 
words  of  Christ  abide  in  us,  they  will  stir  us 
up  to  prayer.  They  will  be  the  mold  in  which 
our  praj^ers  are  shaped,  and  our  prayers  will 
be  necessarily  along  the  line  of  God's  will,  and 
will  prevail  with  Him.  Prevailing  prayer  is 
almost  an  impossibility  where  there  is  neglect 
of  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God. 

Mere  intellectual  study  of  the  Word  of  God  is 
not  enough ;  there  must  be  meditation  upon  it. 
The  Word  of  God  must  be  revolved  over  and 
over  and  over  in  the  mmd,  with  a  constant 


ABIDING   IN    CHRIST  73 

looking  to  God  by  His  Spirit  to  make  that 
Word  a  living  thing  in  the  heart.  The  prayer 
that  is  born  of  meditation  upon  the  Word  of 
God  is  the  prayer  that  soars  upward  most  easily 
to  God's  listening  ear. 

George  Miiller,  one  of  the  mightiest  men  of 
prayer  of  the  present  generation,  when  the 
hour  for  prayer  came  would  begin  by  reading 
and  meditating  upon  God's  Word  until  out  of 
the  study  of  the  Word  a  prayer  began  to  form 
itself  in  his  heart.  Thus  God  Himself  was  the 
real  author  of  the  prayer,  and  God  answered 
the  prayers  which  He  Himself  had  inspired. 

The  Word  of  God  is  the  instrument  through 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  works,  it  is  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit  in  more  senses  than  one;  and  the 
one  who  would  know  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  any  direction  must  feed  upon  the 
Word.  The  one  who  would  pray  in  the  Spirit 
must  meditate  much  upon  the  Word,  that  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  have  something  through  which 
He  can  work.  The  Holy  Spirit  works  His 
prayers  in  us  through  the  Word,  and  neglect 
of  the  Word  makes  praying  in  the  Holy  Spirit 
an  impossibility.  If  we  would  feed  the  fire  of 
our  prayers  with  the  fuel  of  God's  Word,  all 
our  difficulties  in  prayer  would  disappear. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PRAYING   WITH   THANKSGIVING 

There  are  two  words  often  overlooked  in  the 
lesson  about  prayer  which  Paul  gives  us  in 
Phil.  4:6,  7,  **In  nothing  be  anxious;  but  in 
everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with 
thanksgiving  let  your  requests  be  made  known 
unto  God.  And  the  peace  of  God,  which 
passeth  all  understanding,  shall  guard  your 
hearts  and  your  thoughts  in  Christ  Jesus."  (R. 
V.)  The  two  important  words  often  over- 
looked are,  '"'with  thanksgiving.'* 

In  approaching  God  to  ask  for  new  blessings, 
we  should  never  forget  to  return  thanks  for 
blessings  already  granted.  If  any  one  of  us 
would  stop  and  think  how  many  of  the  pray- 
ers which  we  have  offered  to  God  have  been 
answered,  and  how  seldom  we  have  gone  back 
to  God  to  return  thanks  for  the  answers  thus 
given,  I  am  sure  we  would  be  overwhelmed 
with  confusion.  We  should  be  just  as  definite 
in  returning  thanks  as  we  are  in  prayer.  We 
come  to  God  with  most  specific  petitions,  but 
74 


PRAYING  WITH  THANKSGIVING  75 

when  we  return  thanks  to  Him,  our  thanks- 
giving is  indefinite  and  general. 

Doubtless  one  reason  why  so  many  of  our 
prayers  lack  power  is  because  we  have  neglected 
to  return  thanks  for  blessings  already  received. 
If  any  one  were  to  constantly  come  to  us  ask- 
ing help  from  us,  and  should  never  say 
"Thank  you"  for  the  help  thus  given,  we  would 
soon  tire  of  helping  one  so  ungrateful.  Indeed, 
regard  for  the  one  we  were  helping  would  hold 
us  back  from  encouraging  such  rank  ingrati- 
tude. Doubtless  our  heavenly  Father  out  of  a 
wise  regard  for  our  highest  welfare  oftentimes 
refuses  to  answer  petitions  that  we  send  up  to 
Him  in  order  that  we  may  be  brought  to  a  sense 
of  our  ingratitude  and  taught  to  be  thankful. 

God  is  deeply  grieved  by  the  thanklessness 
and  ingratitude  of  which  so  many  of  us  are 
guilty.  When  Jesus  healed  the  ten  lepers  and 
only  one  came  back  to  give  Him  thanks,  in 
wonderment  and  pain  He  exclaimed, 

"Were  not  the  ten  cleansed?  but  where  are 
the  nine?"   (Luke  17:17,  R.  V.) 

How  often  must  He  look  down  upon  us  in 
sadness  at  our  forgetfulness  of  His  repeated 
blessings,  and  His  frequent  answer  to  our 
prayers. 


76  HOW   TO   PRAY 

^Returning  thanks  for  blessings  already 
received  increases  our  faith  and  enables  us  to 
approach  God  with  new  boldness  and  new 
assurance.  Doubtless  the  reason  so  many  have 
so  little  faith  when  they  pray,  is  because  they 
take  so  little  time  to  meditate  upon  and  thank 
God  for  blessings  already  received.  As  one 
meditates  upon  the  answers  to  prayers  already 
granted,  faith  waxes  bolder  and  bolder,  and  we 
come  to  feel  in  the  very  depths  of  our  souls  that 
there  is  nothing  too  hard  for  the  Lord.  As  we 
reflect  upon  the  wondrous  goodness  of  God 
toward  us  on  the  one  hand,  and  upon  the  other 
hand  upon  the  little  thought  and  strength  and 
time  that  we  ever  put  into  thanksgiving,  we 
may  well  humble  ourselves  before  God  and 
confess  our  sin. 

The  mighty  men  of  prayer  in  the  Bible,  and 
the  mighty  men  of  prayer  throughout  the  ages 
of  the  church's  history  have  been  men  who 
were  much  given  to  thanksgiving  and  praise. 
David  was  a  mighty  man  of  prayer,  and  how 
his  Psalms  abound  with  thanksgiving  and 
praise.  The  apostles  were  mighty  men  of 
prayer;  of  them  we  read  that  "they  were  con- 
tinually in  the  temple,  praising  and  blessing 
God. ' '     Paul  was  a  mighty  man  of  prayer,  and 


PRAYING   WITH   THANKSGIVING  77 

how  often  in  his  epistles  he  bursts  out  in 
definite  thanksgiving  to  God  for  definite  bless- 
ings and  definite  answers  to  prayers.  Jesus  is 
our  model  in  prayer  as  in  everything  else.  We 
find  in  the  study  of  His  life  that  His  manner 
of  returning  thanks  at  the  simplest  meal  was 
so  noticeable  that  two  of  His  disciples  recog- 
nized Him  by  this  after  His  resurrection. 

Thanksgiving  is  one  of  the  inevitable  results 
of  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  one 
who  does  not  learn  "in  everything  to  give 
thanks"  cannot  continue  to  pray  in  the  Spirit. 
If  we  would  learn  to  ptay  with  power  w^e  would 
do  well  to  let  these  two  words  sink  deep  into 


CHAPTER  IX 

HINDRANCES   TO   PRAYER 

We  have  gone  very  carefully  into  the  posi- 
tive conditions  of  prevailing  prayer;  but  there 
are  some  things  which  hinder  prayer.  These 
God  has  made  very  plain  in  His  Word. 

I.  The  first  hindrance  to  prayer  we  will  find 
in  James  4:3,  "Ye  ask  and  receive  not  because 
ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye  may  spend  it  in  your  pleas^ 
ures."  (R.  V.) 

A  selfish  purpose  in  prayer  robs  prayer  of 
power.  Very  many  prayers  are  selfish.  These 
may  be  prayers  for  things  for  which  it  is  per- 
fectly proper  to  ask,  for  things  which  it  is  the 
will  of  God  to  give,  but  the  motive  of  the 
prayer  is  entirely  wrong,  and  so  the  prayer 
falls  powerless  to  the  ground.  The  true  pur- 
pose in  prayer  is  that  God  may  be  glorified  in 
thfi  antiwar  If  we  ask  any  petition  merely 
that  we  may  receive  something  to  use  in  our 
pleasures  or  in  our  own  gratification  in  one 
way  or  another,  we  "ask  amiss"  and  need  not 
expect  to  receive  what  we  ask.     This  explains 

why  many  prayers  remain  unanswered. 
78 


HINDRANCES   TO   PRAYER  79 

For  example,  many  a  woman  is  praying  for 
the  conversion  of  her  husband.  That  cer- 
tainly is  a  most  proper  thing  to  ask ;  but  many 
a  woman's  motive  in  asking  for  the  conversion 
of  her  husband  is  entirely  improper,  it  is 
selfish.  She  desires  that  her  husband  may  be 
converted  because  it  would  be  so  much  more 
pleasant  for  her  to  have  a  husband  who  sym- 
pathized with  her;  or  it  is  so  painful  to  think 
that  her  husband  might  die  and  be  lost  forever. 
For  some  such  selfish  reason  as  this  she  desires 
to  have  her  husband  converted.  The  prayer 
is  purely  selfish.  Why  should  a  woman  desire 
the  conversion  of  her  husband?  First  of  all 
and  above  all,  that  God  may  be  glorified; 
because  she  cannot  bear  the  thought  that  God 
the  Father  should  be  dishonored  b)^  her  hus- 
band trampling  under  foot  the  Son  of  God. 

Many  pray  for  a  revival.  That  certainly  is 
a  prayer  that  is  pleasing  to  God,  it  is  along  the 
line  of  His  will ;  but  many  prayers  for  revivals 
are  purely  selfish.  The  churches  desire  revivals 
in  order  that  the  membership  may  be  increased, 
in  order  that  the  church  may  have  a  position 
of  more  power  and  influence  in  the  community, 
in  order  that  the  church  treasury  may  be  filled, 
in  order  that  a  good  report  may  be  made  at 


80  HOW  TO  PRAY 

the  presbytery  or  conference  or  association. 
For  such  low  purposes  as  these,  churches  and 
ministers  oftentimes  are  praying  for  a  revival, 
and  oftentimes  too  God  does  not  answer  the 
prayer.  Why  should  we  pray  for  a  revival? 
For  the  glory  of  God,  because  we  cannot 
endure  it  that  God  should  continue  to  be  dis- 
honored by  the  worldliness  of  the  church,  by 
the  sins  of  unbelievers,  by  the  proud  unbelief 
of  the  day;  because  God's  Word  is  being  made 
void;  in  order  that  God  may  be  glorified  by 
the  outpouring  of  His  Spirit  on  the  Church  of 
Christ.  For  these  reasons  first  of  all  and  above 
all,  we  should  pray  for  a  revival. 

Many  a  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  purely 
selfish  prayer.  It  certainly  is  God's  will  to 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him — 
He  has  told  us  so  plainly  in  His  Word  (Luke 
11:13),  but  many  a  prayer  for  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  hindered  by  the  selfishness  of  the  motive 
that  lies  back  of  the  prayer.  Men  and  women 
pray  for  the  Holy  Spirit  in  order  that  they 
may  be  happy,  or  in  order  that  they  may  be 
saved  from  the  wretchedness  of  defeat  in  their 
lives,  or  in  order  that  they  may  have  power  as 
Christian  workers,  or  for  some  other  purely 
selfish  motive.     Why  should  we  pray  for  the 


HINDRANCES   TO   PRAYER  8l 

Spirit?  In  order  that  God  may  no  longer  be 
dishonored  by  the  low  level  of  our  Christian 
lives  and  by  our  ineffectiveness  in  service,  in 
order  that  God  may  be  glorified  in  the  new 
beauty  that  comes  into  our  lives  and  the  new 
power  that  comes  into  our  service. 

2.  The  second  hindrance  to  prayer  we  find 
in  Is.  59:1,  2:  "Behold,  the  Lord's  hand  is  not 
shortened,  that  it  cannot  save;  neither  His  ear 
heavy,  that  it  cannot  hear.  But  j'our  viiqtiities 
have  separated  between  you  and  your  God,  and 
your  sins  have  hid  His  face  from  you^  iJiat  He 
will  7tot  hear.** 

Sin  hinders  prayer.  Many  a  man  prays  and 
prays  and  prays,  and  gets  absolutely  no 
answer  to  his  prayer.  Perhaps  he  is  tempted 
to  think  that  it  is  not  the  will  of  God  to 
answer,  or  he  may  think  that  the  days  when 
God  answered  prayer,  if  He  ever  did,  are  over. 
So  the  Israelites  seem  to  have  thought.  They 
thought  that  the  Lord's  hand  was  shortened, 
that  it  could  not  save,  and  that  His  ear  had 
become  heavy  that  it  could  no  longer  hear. 

"Not  so,"  said  Isaiah,  "God's  ear  is  just  as 
open  to  hear  as  ever.  His  hand  just  as  mighty 
to  save ;  but  there  is  a  hindrance.  That  hin- 
drance is  your  own  sins.     Your  iniquities  have 


82  HOW  TO   PRAY 

separated  between  you  and  your  God,  and 
your  sins  have  hid  His  face  from  you  that  He 
will  not  hear." 

It  is  so  to-day.  Many  and  many  a  man  is 
crying  to  God  in  vain,  simply  because  of  sin 
in  his  life.  It  may  be  some  sin  in  the  past  that 
has  been  unconfessed  and  unjudged,  it  may  be 
some  sin  in  the  present  that  is  cherished,  very 
likely  is  not  even  looked  upon  as  sin,  but  there 
the  sin  is,  hidden  away  somewhere  in  the  heart 
or  in  the  life,  and  God  "will  not  hear." 

Any  one  who  finds  his  prayers  ineffective 
should  not  conclude  that  the  thing  which  he 
asks  of  God  is  not  according  to  His  will,  but 
should  go  alone  with  God  with  the  Psalmist's 
prayer,  "Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my 
heart:  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts:  and 
see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me"  (Ps. 
139:23,  24),  and  wait  before  Him  until  He  puts 
His  finger  upon  the  thing  that  is  displeasing 
in  His  sight.  Then  this  sin  should  be  con- 
fessed and  put  away. 

I  well  remember  a  time  in  my  life  when  I 
was  praying  for  two  definite  things  that  it 
seemed  that  I  must  have,  or  God  would  be 
dishonored ;  but  the  answer  did  not  come.  I 
awoke  in  the  middle    of    the  night  in  great 


HINDRANCES    TO    PRAYER  83 

physical  suffering-  and  great  distress  of  soul. 
I  cried  to  God  for  these  things,  reasoned  with 
Him  as  to  how  necessary  it  was  that  I  get 
them,  and  get  them  at  once;  but  no  answer 
came.  I  asked  God  to  show  me  if  there  was 
anything  wrong  in  my  own  life.  Something 
came  to  my  mind  that  had  often  come  to  it 
before,  something  definite  but  which  I  was 
unwilling  to  confess  as  sin.  I  said  to  God,  "If 
this  is  wrong  I  will  give  it  up";  but  still  no 
answer  came.  In  my  innermost  heart,  though 
I  had  never  admitted  it,  I  knew  it  was  wrong. 

At  last  I  said: 

**This  is  wrong.  I  have  sinned.  I  will  give 
it  up." 

I  found  peace.  In  a  few  moments  I  was 
sleeping  like  a  child.  In  the  morning  I  woke 
well  in  body,  and  the  money  that  was  so  much 
needed  for  the  honor  of  God's  name  came. 

Sin  is  an  awful  thing,  and  one  of  the  most 
awful  things  about  it  is  the  way  it  hinders 
prayer,  the  way  it  severs  the  connection 
between  us  and  the  source  of  all  grace  and 
power  and  blessing.  Any  one  who  would  have 
power  in  prayer  must  be  merciless  in  dealing 
with  his  own  sins.  *'If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my 
heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me."  (Ps.  66:18.) 


84  HOW    TO    PRAY 

So  long  as  we  hold  on  to  sin  or  have  any  con- 
troversy with  God,  we  cannot  expect  Him  to 
heed  our  prayers.  If  there  is  anything  that  is 
constantly  coming  up  in  your  moments  of  close 
communion  with  God,  that  is  the  thing  that 
hinders  prayer:  put  it  away. 

3.  The  third  hindrance  to  prayer  is  found  in 
Ez.  14:3,  "Son  of  man,  these  men  have  taken 
their  idols  into  their  heart,  and  put  the  stum- 
bling block  of  their  iniquity  before  their  face: 
should  I  be  inquired  of  at  all  by  them?"  (R. 
V.)  Idols  in  the  heart  cause  God  to  refuse  to 
listen  to  our  prayers. 

What  is  an  idol?  An  idol  is  anything  that 
takes  the  place  of  God,  anything  that  is  the 
supreme  object  of  our  affection.  God  alone 
has  the  right  to  the  supreme  place  in  our 
hearts.  Everything  and  everyone  else  must 
be  subordinate  to  Him. 

Many  a  man  makes  an  idol  of  his  wife.  Not 
that  a  man  can  love  his  wife  any  too  much, 
but  he  can  put  her  in  the  wrong  place,  he  can 
put  her  before  God;  and  when  a  man  regards 
his  wife's  pleasure  before  God's  pleasure,  when 
he  gives  her  the  first  place  and  God  the  second 
place,  his  wife  is  an  idol,  and  God  cannot  hear 
his  prayers. 


HINDRANCES    TO    PRAYER  85 

Many  a  woman  makes  an  idol  of  her  children. 
Not  that  we  can  love  our  children  too  much. 
The  more  dearly  we  love  Christ,  the  more  dearly 
we  love  our  children;  but  we  can  put  our  chil- 
dren in  the  wrong  place,  we  can  put  them  before 
God,  and  their  interests  before  God's  interests. 
When  we  do  this  our  children  are  our  idols. 

Many  a  man  makes  an  idol  of  his  reputation 
or  his  business.  Reputation  or  business  is  put 
before  God.  God  cannot  hear  the  prayers  of 
such  a  man. 

One  great  question  for  us  to  decide,  if  we 
would  have  power  in  prayer  is.  Is  God 
absolutely  first?  Is  He  before  wife,  before 
children,  before  reputation,  before  business, 
before  our  own  lives?  If  not,  prevailing 
prayer  is  impossible. 

God  often  calls  our  attention  to  the  fact  that 
we  have  an  idol,  by  not  answering  our  prayers, 
and  thus  leading  us  to  inquire  as  to  why  our 
prayers  are  not  answered,  and  so  we  discover  the 
idol,  put  it  away,  and  God  hears  our  prayers. 

4.  The  fourth  hindrance  to  prayer  is  found 
in  Prov.  21:13,  "  W/ioso  stoppeth  his  ears  at  the 
cry  of  the  poor^  he  also  shall  cry  himself,  but 
shall  not  be  heard. " 

There  is   perhaps  no  greater  hindrance  to 


86  HOW  TO   PRAY 

prayer  than  stinginess,  the  lack  of  liberality 
toward  the  poor  and  toward  God's  work.  It  is 
the  one  who  gives  generously  to  others  who 
receives  generously  from  God.  "Give,  and  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you ;  good  measure,  pressed 
down,  shaken  together,  running  over,  shall 
they  give  into  your  bosom.  For  with  what 
measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again."  (Luke  6:38,  R.  V.)  The  generous 
man  is  the  mighty  man  of  prayer.  The  stingy 
man  is  the  powerless  man  of  prayer. 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  statements  about 
prevailing  prayer  (already  referred  to)  i  John 
3:22,  "Whatsoever  we  ask  we  receive  of  Him, 
because  we  keep  His  commandments,  and  do 
those  things  that  are  pleasing  in  His  sight,"  is 
made  in  direct  connection  with  generosity 
toward  the  needy.  In  the  context  we  are  told 
that  it  is  when  we  love,  not  in  word  or  in 
tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth,  when  we 
open  our  hearts  toward  the  brother  in  need, 
it  is  then  and  only  then  we  have  confidence 
toward  God  in  prayer. 

Many  a  man  and  woman  who  is  seeking  to 
find  the  secret  of  their  powerlessness  in  prayer 
need  not  seek  far ;  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  downright  stinginess.     George  Miiller,  to 


HINDRANCES    TO    PRAYER  87 

whom  reference  has  already  been  made,  was  a 
mighty  man  of  prayer  because  he  was  a  mighty 
giver.  What  he  received  from  God  never  stuck 
to  his  fingers ;  he  immediately  passed  it  on  to 
others.  He  was  constantly  receiving  because 
he  was  constantly  giving.  When  one  thinks  of 
the  selfishness  of  the  professing  church  to-day, 
how  the  orthodox  churches  of  this  land  do  not 
average  $1.00  per  year  per  member  for  foreign 
missions,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  church  has 
so  little  power  in  prayer.  If  we  would  get 
from  God,  we  must  give  to  others.  Perhaps 
the  most  wonderful  promise  in  the  Bible  in 
regard  to  God's  supplying  our  need  is  Phil. 
4:19,  "And  my  God  shall  fulfill  every  need  of 
yours  according  to  His  riches  in  glory  in  Christ 
Jesus."  (R.  V.)  This  glorious  promise  was 
made  to  the  Philippian  church,  and  made  in 
immediate  connection  with  their  generosity. 

5.  The  fifth  hindrance  to  prayer  is  found  in 
Mark  11:25,  "And  when  ye  stand  praying, 
forgive^  if  ye  have  ought  against  any;  that 
your  Father  also  which  is  in  heaven  may  for- 
give you  your  trespasses." 

An  unforgiving  spirit  is  one  of  the  com- 
monest hindrances  to  prayer.  Prayer  is 
answered   on  the  basis  that  our  sins  are  for- 


88  HOW   TO   PRAY 

given;  but  God  cannot  deal  with  ns  on  the 
basis  of  forgiveness  while  we  are  harboring 
ill-will  against  those  who  have  wronged  us. 
Any  one  who  is  nursing  a  grudge  against 
another  has  fast  closed  the  ear  of  God  against 
his  own  petition.  How  many  there  are  crying 
to  God  for  the  conversion  of  husband,  children, 
friends,  and  wondering  why  it  is  that  their 
prayer  is  not  answered,  when  the  whole  secret 
is  some  grudge  that  they  have  in  their  hearts 
against  some  one  who  has  injured  them,  or  who 
they  fancy  has  injured  them.  Many  and  many 
a  mother  and  father  are  allowing  their  children 
to  go  down  to  eternity  unsaved,  for  the  miser- 
able gratification  of  hating  somebody. 

6.  The  sixth  hindrance  to  prayer  is  found  in 
I  Peter  3:7,  **Ye  husbands,  in  like  manner, 
dwell  with  your  wives  according  to  knowledge, 
giving  honor  unto  the  woman,  as  unto  the 
weaker  vessel  as  being  also  joint-heirs  of  the 
grace  of  life ;  to  the  end  that  your  prayers  be 
not  hindered,"  (R.  V.)  Here  v/e  are  plainly 
told  that  a  wrong  relation  between  husbayid  and 
wife  is  a  hindrance  to  prayer. 

In  many  and  many  a  case  the  prayers  of  hus- 
bands are  hindered  because  of  their  failure  of 
duty  tov/ard  their  wives.    On  the  other  hand,  it 


HINDRANCES    TO    PRAYER  89 

is  also  doubtless  true  that  the  prayers  of  wives 
are  hindered  because  of  their  failure  in  duty 
toward  their  husbands.  If  husbands  and  wives 
should  seek  diligently  to  find  the  cause  of 
their  unanswered  prayers,  they  would  often 
find  it  in  their  relations  to  one  another. 

Many  a  man  who  makes  great  pretentions 
to  piety,  and  is  very  active  in  Christian  work, 
shows  but  little  consideration  in  his  treatment 
of  his  wife,  and  is  oftentimes  unkind,  if  not 
brutal;  then  he  wonders  why  it  is  that  his 
prayers  are  not  answered.  The  verse  that  we 
have  just  quoted  explains  the  seeming  mystery. 
On  the  other  hand,  many  a  woman  who  is  very 
devoted  to  the  church,  and  very  faithful  in 
attendance  upon  all  services,  treats  her  hus- 
band with  the  most  unpardonable  neglect,  is 
cross  and  peevish  toward  him,  wounds  him  by 
the  sharpness  of  her  speech,  and  by  her 
ungovernable  temper;  then  wonders  why  it  is 
that  she  has  no  power  in  prayer. 

There  are  other  things  in  the  relations  of 
husbands  and  wives  which  cannot  be  spoken 
of  publicly,  but  which  doubtless  are  oftentimes 
a  hindrance  in  approaching  God  in  prayer. 
There  is  much  of  sin  covered  up  under  the 
holy    name   of   marriage    that    is  a  cause  of 


90  HOW   TO   PRAY 

Spiritual  deadness,  and  of  powerlessness  in 
prayer.  Any  man  or  woman  whose  prayers 
seem  to  bring  no  answer  should  spread  their 
whole  married  life  out  before  God,  and  ask 
Him  to  put  His  finger  upon  anything  in  it  that 
is  displeasing  in  His  sight. 

7.  The  seventh  hindrance  to  prayer  is  found 
in  James  1:5-7,  **But  if  any  of  you  lacketh 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all 
liberally  and  upbraideth  not;  and  it  shall  be 
given  him.  But  let  him  ask  in  faith,  nothing 
doubting:  for  he  that  doubteth  is  like  the  surge 
of  the  sea  driven  by  the  wind  and  tossed.  For 
let  not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive 
anything  of  the  Lord."  (R.  V.) 

Prayers  are  hindered  by  unbelief.  God 
demands  that  we  shall  believe  His  Word 
absolutely.  To  question  it  is  to  make  Him  a 
liar.  Many  of  us  do  that  when  we  plead  His 
promises,  and  is  it  any  wonder  that  our  prayers 
are  not  answered?  How  many  prayers  are 
hindered  by  our  wretched  unbelief!  We  go 
to  God  and  ask  Him  for  something  that  is 
positively  promised  in  His  Word,  and  then  we 
do  not  more  than  half  expect  to  get  it.  "Let 
not  that  man  think  that  he  shall  receive  any- 
thing of  the  Lord." 


CHAPTER  X 

WHEN  TO   PRAY 

If  we  would  know  the  fullness  of  blessing 
that  there  is  in  the  prayer  life,  it  is  important 
not  only  that  we  pray  in  the  right  way,  but 
also  that  we  pray  at  the  right  time.  Christ's 
own  example  is  full  of  suggestiveness  as  to  the 
right  time  for  prayer. 

I.  In  the  ist  chapter  of  Mark,  the  35th  verse, 
we  read,  **And  in  the  mornings  rising  up  a 
^reat  while  before  day.  He  went  out,  and  de- 
parted into  a  solitary  place,  and  there  prayed." 

Jesus  chose  the  early  morning  hour  for  prayer. 
Many  of  the  mightiest  men  of  God  have  fol- 
lowed the  Lord's  example  in  this.  In  the 
morning  hour  the  mind  is  fresh  and  at  its 
very  best.  It  is  free  from  distraction,  and 
that  absolute  concentration  upon  God  which  is 
essential  to  the  most  effective  prayer  is  most 
easily  possible  in  the  early  morning  hours. 
Furthermore,  when  the  early  hours  are  spent 
in  prayer,  the  whole  day  is  sanctified,  and 
power  is  obtained  for  overcoming  its  tempta- 

91 


92  HOW  TO   PRAY 

tions,  and  for  performing  its  duties.  More  can 
be  accomplished  in  prayer  in  the  first  hours  of 
the  day  than  at  any  other  time  during  the  day. 
Every  child  of  God  who  would  make  the  most 
out  of  his  life  for  Christ,  should  set  apart  the 
first  part  of  the  day  to  meeting  God  in  the 
study  of  His  Word  and  in  prayer.  The  first 
thing  we  do  each  day  should  be  to  go  alone 
with  God  and  face  the  duties,  the  temptations, 
and  the  service  of  that  day,  and  get  strength 
from  God  for  all.  We  should  get  victory 
before  the  hour  of  trial,  temptation  or  service 
comes.  The  secret  place  of  prayer  is  the 
place  to  fight  our  battles  and  gain  our 
victories. 

2.  In  the  6th  chapter  of  Luke  in  the  12th 
verse,  we  get  further  light  upon  the  right  time 
to  pray.  We  read,  "And  it  came  to  pass  in 
those  days,  that  He  went  out  into  a  mountain 
to  pray,  and  continued  all  night  in  prayer  to 
God.'' 

Here  we  see  Jesus  praying  in  the  night, 
spending  the  entire  night  in  prayer.  Of 
course  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
this  was  the  constant  practice  of  our  Lord,  nor 
do  we  even  know  how  common  this  practice 
was,  but  there  were  certainly  times  when  the 


WHEN   TO    PRAY 


93 


whole  night  was  given  up  to  prayer.  Here 
too  we  do  well  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the 
Master, 

Of  course  there  is  a  way  of  setting  apart 
nights  for  prayer  in  which  there  is  no  profit; 
it  is  pure  legalism.  But  the  abuse  of  this 
practice  is  no  reason  for  neglecting  it  alto- 
gether. One  ought  not  to  say,  "I  am  going  to 
spend  a  whole  night  in  prayer,"  with  the 
thought  that  there  is  any  merit  that  will  win 
God's  favor  in  such  an  exercise;  that  is 
legalism.  But  we  oftentimes  do  well  to  say, 
"I  am  going  to  set  apart  this  night  for  meeting 
God,  and  obtaining  His  blessing  and  power; 
and  if  necessary,  and  if  He  so  leads  me,  I  will 
give  the  whole  night  to  prayer. ' '  Oftentimes 
we  will  have  prayed  things  through  long 
before  the  night  has  passed,  and  we  can  retire 
and  find  more  refreshing  and  invigorating 
sleep  than  if  we  had  not  spent  the  time  in 
prayer.  At  other  times  God  doubtless  will 
keep  us  in  communion  with  Himself  away 
into  the  morning,  and  w^hen  He  does  this  in 
His  infinite  grace,  blessed  indeed  are  these 
hours  of  night  prayer! 

Nights  of  prayer  to  God  are  followed  by 
days  of  power  with  men.     In  the  night  hours 


94 


HOW   TO    PRAY 


the  world  is  hushed  in  slumber,  and  we  can 
easily  be  alone  with  God  and  have  undisturbed 
communion  with  Him.  If  we  set  apart  the 
whole  night  for  prayer,  there  will  be  no  hurry, 
there  will  be  time  for  our  own  hearts  to 
become  quiet  before  God,  there  will  be  time 
for  the  whole  mind  to  be  brought  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  there  will  be 
plenty  of  time  to  pray  things  through.  A 
night  of  prayer  should  be  put  entirely  under 
God's  control.  We  should  lay  down  no  rules 
as  to  how  long  we  will  pray,  or  as  to  what  we 
shall  pray  about,  but  be  ready  to  wait  upon 
God  for  a  short  time  or  a  long  time  as  He  may 
lead,  and  to  be  led  out  in  one  direction  or 
another  as  He  may  see  fit. 

3.  Jesus  Christ  prayed  before  all  the  great 
crises  in  His  earthly  life. 

He  prayed  before  choosing  the  twelve  disci- 
ples ;  before  the  sermon  on  the  mount ;  before 
starting  out  on  an  evangelistic  tour;  before 
His  anointing  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  His 
entrance  upon  His  public  ministry;  before 
announcing  to  the  twelve  His  approaching 
death ;  before  the  great  consummation  of  His 
life  at  the  cross.  (Luke  6:12,  13;  Luke  9:18, 
31,  23;   Luke  3:21,  22;   Mark    1:35-38;    Luke 


WHEN   TO   PRAY 


95 


22:39-46.)  He  prepared  for  every  important 
crisis  by  a  protracted  season  of  prayer.  So 
ought  wc  to  do  also.  Whenever  any  crisis  of 
life  is  seen  to  be  approaching,  we  should  pre? 
pare  for  it  by  a  season  of  very  definite  prayer 
to  God.  We  should  take  plenty  of  time  for 
this  prayer. 

4.  Christ  prayed  not  only  before  the  great 
events  and  victories  of  His  life,  but  He  also 
prayed  after  its  great  achievements  and  impor- 
tafit  crises. 

When  He  had  fed  the  five  thousand  with  the 
five  loaves  and  two  fishes,  and  the  multitude 
desired  to  take  Him  and  make  Him  king, 
having  sent  them  away  He  went  up  into  the 
mountain  apart  to  pray,  and  spent  hours  there 
alone  in  prayer  to  God  (Matt.  14:23;  Jno. 
6:15).     So  He  went  on  from  victory  to  victory. 

It  is  more  common  for  most  of  us  to  pray 
before  the  great  events  of  life  than  it  is  to  pray 
after  them,  but  the  latter  is  as  important  as 
the  former.  If  we  would  pray  after  the  great 
achievements  of  life,  we  might  go  on  to  still 
greater;  as  it  is  we  are  often  either  puffed  up 
or  exhausted  by  the  things  that  we  do  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  and  so  we  advance  no 
further.      Many  and  many  a  man  in  answer  to 


96  HOW  TO  PRAY 

prayer  has  been  endued  with  power  and  thus 
has  wrought  great  things  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  when  these  great  things  were 
accomplished,  instead  of  going  alone  with  God 
and  humbling  himself  before  Him,  and  giving 
Him  all  the  glory  for  what  was  achieved,  he 
has  congratulated  himself  upon  what  has  been 
accomplished,  has  become  puffed  up,  and  God 
has  been  obliged  to  lay  him  aside.  The  great 
things  done  were  not  followed  by  humiliation 
of  self,  and  prayer  to  God,  and  so  pride  has 
come  in  and  the  mighty  man  has  been  shorn 
of  his  power. 

5.  Jesus  Christ  gave  a  special  time  to  prayer 
when  life  was  unusually  busy.  He  would  with- 
draw at  such  a  time  from  the  multitudes  that 
thronged  about  Him,  and  go  into  the  wilder- 
ness and  pray.  For  example,  we  read  in 
Luke  5:15,  16,  "But  so  mtich  the  more  went 
abroad  the  report  concerning  Him:  and  great 
multitudes  came  together  to  hear,  and  to  be 
healed  of  their  infirmities.  But  He  withdrew 
Himself  in  the  deserts  and  prayed."  (R.  V.) 

Some  men  are  so  busy  that  they  find  no  time 
for  prayer.  Apparently  the  busier  Christ's 
life  was,  the  more  He  prayed.  Sometimes  He 
had  no  time  to  eat  (Marl:  3:20),  sometimes  He 


WHEN    TO   PRAY  97 

had  no  time  for  needed  rest  and  sleep  (Mark 
6:31,  33,  46),  but  He  always  took  time  to  pray; 
and  the  more  t»he  work  crowded  the  more  He 
prayed. 

Many  a  mighty  man  of  God  has  learned  this 
secret  from  Christ,  and  when  the  work  has 
crowded  more  than  usual  they  have  set  an 
unusual  amount  of  time  apart  for  prayer. 
Other  men  of  God,  once  mighty,  have  lost  their 
power  because  they  did  not  learn  this  secret,  and 
allowed  increasing  work  to  crowd  out  prayer. 

Years  ago  it  was  the  writer's  privilege,  with 
other  theological  students,  to  ask  questions  of 
one  of  the  most  useful  Christian  men  of  the 
day.     The  writer  was  led  to  ask, 

*'Will  you  tell  us  something  of  your  prayer 
life?" 

The  man  was  silent  a  moment,  and  then, 
turning  his  eyes  earnestly  upon  me,  replied: 

"Well,  I  must  admit  that  I  have  been  so 
crowded  with  work  of  late  that  I  have  not 
given  the  time  I  should  to  prayer." 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  that  man  lost  power, 
and  the  great  work  that  he  was  doing  was  cur- 
tailed in  a  very  marked  degree?  Let  us  never 
forget  that  the  more  the  work  presses  on  us, 
the  more  time  must  we  spend  in  prayer. 


98  HOW   TO   PRAY 

6.  Jesus  Christ  prayed  before  the  great  temP' 
tations  of  His  life. 

As  He  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  cross, 
and  realized  that  upon  it  was  to  come  the  great 
final  test  of  His  life,  Jesus  went  out  into  the 
garden  to  pray.  He  came  **unto  a  place  called 
Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit 
ye  here  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder.*'  (Matt. 
26:36.)  The  victory  of  Calvary  was  won  that 
night  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane.  The  calm 
majesty  of  His  bearing  in  meeting  the  awful 
onslaughts  of  Pilate's  Judgment  Hall  and  of 
Calvary,  was  the  outcome  of  the  struggle, 
agony  and  victory  of  Gethsemane.  While 
Jesus  prayed  the  disciples  slept,  so  He  stood 
fast  while  they  fell  ignominiously. 

Many  temptations  come  upon  us  unawares 
and  unannounced,  and  all  that  we  can  do  is  to 
lift  a  cry  to  God  for  help  then  and  there ;  but 
many  of  the  temptations  of  life  we  can  see 
approaching  from  the  distance,  and  in  such 
cases  the  victory  should  be  won  before  the 
temptation  really  reaches  us. 

7.  In  I  Thess.  5:17  we  read,  *'Pray  with- 
out ceasing,*'  and  in  Eph.  6:18,  R.  V.,  '* pray- 
ing at  all  seasons, ' ' 

Our  whole  life  should  be  a  life  of  prayer. 


WHEN    TO    PRAY  99 

We  should  walk  in  constant  communion  with 
God.  There  should  be  a  constant  upward 
looking  of  the  soul  to  God.  We  should  walk 
so  habitually  in  His  presence  that  even  when 
we  awake  in  the  night  it  would  be  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world  for  us  to  speak  to 
Him  in  thanksgiving  or  in  petition. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  NEED  OF  A  GENERAL  REVIVAL 

If  we  are  to  pray  aright  in  such  a  time  as 
this,  much  of  our  prayer  should  be  for  a 
general  revival.  If  there  was  ever  a  time  in 
which  there  was  need  to  cry  unto  God  in  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  *'Wilt  Thou  not  revive 
us  again,  that  Thy  people  may  rejoice  in  Thee?'' 
(Ps.  85 :6)  it  is  this  day  in  which  we  live.  It 
is  surely  time  for  the  Lord  to  work,  for  men 
have  made  void  His  law  (Ps.  119:126).  The 
voice  of  the  Lord  given  in  the  written  Word 
is  set  at  naught  both  by  the  world  and  the 
church.  Such  a  time  is  not  a  time  for  dis- 
couragement— the  man  who  believes  in  God 
and  believes  in  the  Bible  can  never  be  dis- 
couraged ;  but  it  is  a  time  for  Jehovah  Himself 
to  step  in  and  work.  The  intelligent  Christian, 
the  wide-awake  watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion, 
may  well  cry  with  the  Psalmist  of  old,  **It  is 
time  for  Jehovah  to  work,  for  they  have  made 
void  Thy  law."  (Ps.  119:126,  Am.  R.  V,) 

The  great  need  of    the  day  is   a    general 

revival. 

too 


THE  NEED  OF  A  GENERAL  REVIVAL  101 

Let  us  consider  first  of  all  what  a  general 
revival  is. 

A  revival  is  a  time  of  quickening  or  imparta- 
tion  of  life.  As  God  alone  can  give  life,  a 
revival  is  a  time  when  God  visits  His  people 
and  by  the  power  of  His  Spirit  imparts  new 
life  to  them,  and  through  them  imparts  life 
to  sinners  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  We 
have  religious  excitements  gotten  up  by  the 
cunning  methods  and  hypnotic  influence  of  the 
mere  professional  evangelist;  but  these  are  not 
revivals  and  are  not  needed.  They  are  the 
devil's  imitations  of  a  revival.  New  life  from 
God — that  is  a  revival.  A  general  revival  is 
a  time  when  this  new  life  from  God  is  not  con- 
fined to  scattered  localities,  but  is  general 
throughout  Christendom  and  the  earth. 

The  reason  why  a  general  revival  is  needed 
is  that  spiritual  dearth  and  desolation  and 
death  is  general.  It  is  not  confined  to  any 
one  country,  though  it  may  be  more  manifest 
in  some  countries  than  in  others.  It  is  found 
in  foreign  mission  fields  as  well  as  in  home 
fields.  We  have  had  local  revivals.  The  life- 
giving  Spirit  of  God  has  breathed  upon  this 
minister  and  that,  this  church  and  that,  this 
community  and  that;  but  we  need,  we  sorely 


lOa  HOW   TO    PRAY 

need,  a  revival  that  shall  be  widespread  and 
general. 

Let  us  look  for  a  few  moments  at  the  results, 
of  a  revival.  These  results  are  apparent  in 
ministers,  in  the  church  and  in  the  unsaved. 

I.  The  results  of  a  revival  in  a  minister 
are: 

(i)  The  minister  has  a  new  love  for  souls. 
We  ministers  as  a  rule  have  no  such  love  for 
souls  as  we  ought  to  have,  no  such  love  for 
souls  as  Jesus  had,  no  such  love  for  souls  as 
Paul  had.  But  when  God  visits  His  people 
the  hearts  of  ministers  are  greatly  burdened 
for  the  unsaved.  They  go  out  in  great  long- 
ing for  the  salvation  of  their  fellow  men. 
They  forget  their  ambition  to  preach  great 
sermons  and  for  fame,  and  simply  long  to  see 
men  brought  to  Christ. 

(2)  When  true  revivals  come,  ministers  get  a 
new  love  for  God's  Word  and  a  new  faith  in 
God's  Word.  They  fling  to  the  winds  their 
doubts  and  criticisms  of  the  Bible  and  of  the 
creeds,  and  go  to  preaching  the  Bible  and  es- 
pecially Christ  crucified.  Revivals  make  min- 
isters who  are  loose  in  their  doctrines  orthodox. 
A  genuine  wide-sweeping  revival  would  do 
more  to  turn  things  upside  down  and  thus  get 


THE    NEED    OF    A    GENERAL    REVIVAL      IO3 

them  right  side  up  than  all  the  heresy  trials 
ever  instituted. 

(3)  Revivals  bring  to  ministers  new  liberty 
and  power  in  preaching.  It  is  no  week-long 
grind  to  prepare  a  sermon,  and  no  nerve- 
consuming  effort  to  preach  it  after  it  has  been 
prepared.  Preaching  is  a  joy  and  a  refresh- 
ment, and  there  is  power  in  it  in  times  of 
revival. 

2.  The  results  of  a  revival  on  Christians 
generally  are  as  marked  as  its  results  upon  the 
ministry. 

(i)  In  times  of  revival  Christians  come  out 
from  the  world  and  live  separated  lives. 
Christians  who  have  been  dallying  with  the 
world,  who  have  been  playing  cards  and 
dancing  and  going  to  the  theater  and  indulging 
in  similar  follies,  give  them  up.  These  things 
are  found  to  be  incompatible  with  increasing 
life  and  light. 

{2)  In  times  of  revival  Christians  get  a  new 
spirit  of  prayer.  Prayer-meetings  are  no 
longer  a  duty,  but  become  the  necessity  of  a 
hungry,  importunate  heart.  Private  prayer  is 
followed  with  new  zest.  The  voice  of  earnest 
prayer  to  God  is  heard  day  and  night.  People 
no  longer  ask,   "Does   God  answer  prayer?" 


104  HOW  TO   PRAY 

They  know  He  does,  and  besiege  the  throne 
of  grace  day  and  night. 

(3)  In  times  of  revival  Christians  go  to  work 
for  lost  souls.  They  do  not  go  to  meeting 
simply  to  enjoy  themselves  and  get  blessed. 
They  go  to  meeting  to  watch  for  souls  and  to 
bring  them  to  Christ.  They  talk  to  men  on 
the  street  and  in  the  stores  and  in  their  homes. 
The  cross  of  Christ,  salvation,  heaven  and  hell 
become  the  subjects  of  constant  conversation. 
Politics  and  the  weather  and  new  bonnets  and 
the  latest  novels  are  forgotten. 

(4)  In  times  of  revival  Christians  have  new 
joy  in  Christ.  Life  is  joy,  and  new  life  is 
new  joy.  Revival  days  are  glad  days,  days  of 
heaven  on  earth. 

(5)  In  times  of  revival  Christians  get  a  new 
love  for  the  Word  of  God.  They  want  to  study 
it  day  and  night.  Revivals  are  bad  for  saloons 
and  theaters,  but  they  are  good  for  bookstores 
and  Bible  agencies. 

3.  But  revivals  also  have  a  decided  influence 
on  the  unsaved  world. 

(i)  First  of  all,  they  bring  deep  conviction 
of  sin.  Jesus  said  that  when  the  Spirit  was 
come  He  would  convince  the  world  of  sin  (Jno. 
16:7,  8).     Now  we  have  seen  that  a  revival  is 


THE  NEED  OF  A  GENERAL  REVIVAL  IQt; 

a  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  therefore 
there  must  be  new  conviction  of  sin,  and  there 
always  is.  If  you  see  something  men  call  a 
revival,  and  there  is  no  conviction  of  sin,  you 
may  know  at  once  that  it  is  bogus.  It  is  a 
sure  mark. 

(2)  Revivals  bring  also  conversion  and 
regeneration.  When  God  refreshes  His  peo- 
ple. He  always  converts  sinners  also.  The 
first  result  of  Pentecost  was  new  life  and  power 
to  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  disciples  in  the 
upper  room;  the  second  result  was  three 
thousand  conversions  in  a  single  day.  It  is 
always  so.  I  am  constantly  reading  of  revivals 
here  and  there,  where  Christians  were  greatly 
helped  but  there  were  no  conversions.  I  have 
my  doubts  about  that  kind.  If  Christians  are 
truly  refreshed,  they  will  get  after  the  unsaved 
by  prayer  and  testimony  and  persuasion,  and 
there  will  be  conversions. 

WHY    A    GENERAL    REVIVAL    IS    NEEDED 

We  see  what  a  general  revival  is,  and  what 
it  does ;  let  us  now  face  the  question  why  it  is 
needed  at  the  present  time. 

I  think  that  the  mere  description  of  what  it 
is  and  what  it  does  shows  that  it  is  needed, 


I06  HOW   TO   PRAY 

sorely  needed,  but  let  us  look  at  some  specific 
conditions  that  exist  to-day  that  show  the  need 
of  it.  In  showing  these  conditions  one  is  likely 
to  be  called  a  pessimist.  If  facing  the  facts  is 
to  be  called  a  pessimist,  I  am  willing  to  be 
called  a  pessimist.  If  in  order  to  be  an 
optimist  one  must  shut  his  eyes  and  call  black 
white,  and  error  truth,  and  sin  righteousness, 
and  death  life,  I  don't  want  to  be  called  an 
optimist.  But  I  am  an  optimist  all  the  same. 
Pointing  out  the  real  condition  will  lead  to  a 
better  condition. 

I.  Look  first  at  the  ministry. 

(i)  Many  of  us  who  are  professedly  orthodox 
ministers  are  practically  infidels.  That  is 
plain  speech,  but  it  is  also  indisputable  fact. 
There  is  no  essential  difference  between  the 
teachings  of  Tom  Paine  and  Bob  Ingersoll  and 
the  teachings  of  some  of  our  theological  pro- 
fessors. The  latter  are  not  so  blunt  and 
honest  about  it ;  they  phrase  it  in  more  elegant 
and  studied  sentences;  but  it  means  the  same. 
Much  of  the  so-called  new  learning  and  higher 
criticism  is  simply  Tom  Paine  infidelity  sugar- 
coated.  Prof.  Howard  Osgood,  who  is  a  real 
scholar  and  not  a  mere  echo  of  German 
infidelity,  once  read  a  statement  of  some  posi- 


THE    NEED    OF    A    GENERAL    REVIVAL     IO7 

tions,  and  asked  if  they  did  not  fairly  represent 
the  scholarly  criticism  of  to-day,  and  when  it 
was  agreed  that  they  did,  he  startled  his 
audience  by  saying: 

**I  am  reading  from  Tom  Paine *s  *Age  of 
Reason.*  ** 

There  is  little  new  in  the  higher  criticism. 
Our  future  ministers  oftentimes  are  being 
educated  under  infidel  professors,  and  being 
immature  boys  when  they  enter  the  college  or 
seminary,  they  naturally  come  out  infidels  in 
many  cases,  and  then  go  forth  to  poison  the 
church. 

(2)  Even  when  our  ministers  are  orthodox — 
as  thank  God  so  very  many  are! — they  are 
oftentimes  not  men  of  prayer.  How  many 
modern  ministers  know  what  it  is  to  wrestle  in 
prayer,  to  spend  a  good  share  of  a  night  in 
prayer?  I  do  not  know  how  many,  but  I  do 
know  that  many  do  not. 

(3)  Many  of  us  who  are  ministers  have  no 
love  for  souls.  How  many  preach  because  they 
must  preach,  because  they  feel  that  men  every 
where  are  perishing,  and  by  preaching  they 
hope  to  save  some?  And  how  many  follow  up 
their  preaching  as  Paul  did,  by  beseeching 
men  everywhere  to  be  reconciled  to  God? 


I08  HOW  TO  PRAY 

Perhaps  enough  has  been  said  about  us 
ministers;  but  it  is  evident  that  a  revival  is 
needed  for  our  sake,  or  some  of  us  will  have  to 
stand  before  God  overwhelmed  with  confusion 
in  an  awful  day  of  reckoning  that  is  surely 
coming. 

2.  Look  now  at  the  church: 

(i)  Look  at  the  doctrinal  state  of  the  church. 
It  is  bad  enough.  Many  do  not  believe  in  the 
whole  Bible.  The  book  of  Genesis  is  a  myth, 
Jonah  is  an  allegory,  and  even  the  miracles  of 
the  Son  of  God  are  questioned.  The  doctrine 
of  prayer  is  old-fashioned,  and  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  sneered  at.  Conversion  is 
unnecessary,  and  hell  is  no  longer  believed  in. 
Then  look  at  the  fads  and  errors  that  have 
sprung  up  out  of  this  loss  of  faith,  Christian 
Science,  Unitarianism,  Spiritualism,  Univer- 
salism,  Babism,  Metaphysical  Healing, etc., etc., 
a  perfect  pandemonium  of  doctrines  of  devils. 

(2)  Look  at  the  spiritual  state  of  the  church. 
Worldliness  is  rampant  among  church  mem- 
bers. Many  church  members  are  just  as  eager 
as  any  in  the  rush  to  get  rich.  They  use  the 
methods  of  the  world  in  the  accumulation  of 
wealth,  and  they  hold  just  as  fast  to  it  as  any 
when  they  have  gotten  it. 


THE    NEED    OF    A   GENERAL    REVIVAL      109 

Prayerlessness  abounds  among  church  mem- 
bers on  every  hand.  Some  one  has  said  that 
Christians  on  the  average  do  not  spend  more 
than  five  minutes  a  day  in  prayer. 

Neglect  of  the  Word  of  God  goes  hand  in 
hand  with  neglect  of  prayer  to  God.  Very 
many  Christians  spend  twice  as  much  time 
every  day  wallowing  through  the  mire  of  the 
daily  papers  as  they  do  bathing  in  the  cleans- 
ing laver  of  God's  Holy  Word.  How  many 
Christians  average  an  hour  a  day  spent  in  Bible 
study? 

Along  with  neglect  of  prayer  and  neglect  of 
the  Word  of  God  goes  a  lack  of  generosity. 
The  churches  are  rapidly  increasing  in  wealth, 
but  the  treasuries  of  the  missionary  societies 
are  empty.  Christians  do  not  average  a  dollar 
a  year  for  foreign  missions.  It  is  simply 
appalling. 

Then  there  is  the  increasing  disregard  for 
the  Lord's  Day.  It  is  fast  becoming  a  day  of 
worldly  pleasure,  instead  of  a  day  of  holy 
service.  The  Sunday  newspaper  with  its  inane 
twaddle  and  filthy  scandal  takes  the  place  of 
the  Bible;  and  visiting  and  golf  and  bicycle, 
the  place  of  the  Sunday-school  and  church 
service. 


no  HOW  TO   PRAY 

Christians  mingle  with  the  world  in  all  forms 
of  questionable  amusements.  The  young  man 
and  young  woman  who  does  not  believe  in 
dancing  with  its  rank  immodesties,  the  card 
table  with  its  drift  toward  gambling,  and  the 
theater  with  its  ever-increasing  appeal  to  lewd- 
ness, is  counted  an  old  fogy. 

Then  how  small  a  proportion  of  our  mem- 
bership has  really  entered  into  fellowship  with 
Jesus  Christ  in  His  burden  for  souls!  Enough 
has  been  said  of  the  spiritual  state  of  the 
church. 

3.  Now  look  at  the  state  of  the  world, 

(i)  Note  how  few  conversions  there  are. 
The  Methodist  church,  which  has  led  the  way 
in  aggressive  work  has  actually  lost  more  mem- 
bers than  it  has  gained  the  last  year.  Here 
and  there  a  church  has  a  large  number  of 
accessions  upon  confession  of  faith,  but  these 
churches  are  rare  exceptions;  and  where  there 
are  such  accessions,  in  how  few  cases  are  the 
conversions  deep,  thorough  and  satisfactory. 

(2)  There  is  lack  of  conviction  of  sin.  Sel- 
dom are  men  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of 
their  awful  guilt  in  trampling  under  foot  the 
Son  of  God.  Sin  is  regarded  as  a  **  misfor- 
tune" or  as  "infirmity,"  or  even  as  "good  in 


THE    NEED   OF   A    GENERAL   REVIVAL      III 

the    making";    seldom    as    enormous    wrong 
against  a  holy  God. 

(3)  Unbelief  is  rampant.  Many  regard  it  as 
a  mark  of  intellectual  superiority  to  reject  the 
Bible,  and  even  faith  in  God  and  immortality. 
It  is  about  the  only  mark  of  intellectual  supe- 
riority many  possess,  and  perhaps  that  is  the 
reason  they  cling-  to  it  so  tenaciously. 

(4)  Hand  in  hand  with  this  widespread  infi- 
delity goes  gross  immorality,  as  has  always 
been  the  case.  Infidelity  and  immorality  are 
Siamese  twins.  They  always  exist  and  always 
grow  and  always  fatten  together.  This  pre- 
vailing immorality  is  found  everywhere. 

>  Look  at  the  legalized  adultery  that  we  call 
divorce.  Men  marry  one  wife  after  another, 
and  are  still  admitted  into  good  society;  and 
women  do  likewise.  There  are  thousands  of 
supposedly  respectable  men  in  America  living 
with  other  men's  wives,  and  thousands  of  sup- 
posedly respectable  women  living  with  other 
women's  husbands. 

This  immorality  is  found  in  the  theater.  The 
theater  at  its  best  is  bad  enough,  but  now  the 
"Sapphos,"  and  the  "Degenerates,"  and  all 
the  unspeakable  vile  accessories  of  the  stage 
rule  the   day>   and  the  women  who   debauch 


112  HOW   TO   PRAY 

themselves  by  appearing  in  such  plays  are 
defended  in  the  newspapers  and  welcomed  by 
supposedly  respectable  people. 

Much  of  our  literature  is  rotten,  but  decent 
people  will  read  books  as  bad  as  "Trilby" 
because  it  is  the  rage.  Art  is  oftentimes 
a  mere  covering  for  shameless  indecency. 
Women  are  induced  to  cast  modesty  to  the 
winds  that  the  artist  may  perfect  his  art  and 
defile  his  morals. 

Greed  for  money  has  become  a  mania  with 
rich  and  poor.  The  multi  -  millionaire  will 
often  sell  his  soul  and  trample  the  rights  of  his 
fellow  men  under  foot  in  the  mad  hope  of 
becoming  a  billionaire,  and  the  laboring  man 
will  often  commit  murder  to  increase  the 
power  of  the  union  and  keep  up  wages.  Wars 
are  waged  and  men  shot  down  like  dogs  to 
improve  commerce,  and  to  gain  political  pres- 
tige for  unprincipled  politicians  who  parade  as 
statesmen. 

The  licentiousness  of  the  day  lifts  its  serpent 
head  everywhere.  You  see  it  in  the  news- 
papers, you  see  it  on  the  bill-boards,  you  see 
it  on  the  advertisements  of  cigars,  shoes,  bicy- 
cles, patent  medicines,  corsets  and  everything 
else.     You  see  it  on  the  streets  at  night.     You 


THE    NEED   OF    A    GENERAL    REVIVAL     II3 

see  it  just  outside  the  church  door.  You  find 
it  not  only  in  the  awful  cesspools  set  apart  for 
it  in  the  great  cities,  but  it  is  crowding  further 
and  further  up  our  business  streets  and  into 
the  residence  portions  of  our  cities.  Alas!  now 
and  then  you  find  it,  if  you  look  sharp,  in  sup- 
posedly respectable  homes;  indeed  it  will  be 
borne  to  your  ears  by  the  confessions  of  broken- 
hearted  men  and  women.  The  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  world  in  our  day  is  disgusting,  sick- 
ening, appalling. 

We  need  a  revival,  deep,  widespread,  gen- 
eral, in  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is 
either  a  general  revival  or  the  dissolution  of 
the  church,  of  the  home,  of  the  state.  A 
revival,  new  life  from  God,  is  the  cure,  and 
the  only  cure.  That  will  stem  the  awful  tide 
of  immorality  and  unbelief.  Mere  argument 
will  not  do  it;  but  a  wind  from  heaven,  a  new 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a  true  God-sent 
revival  will.  Infidelity,  higher  criticism.  Chris- 
tian Science,  Spiritualism,  Universalism,  all 
will  go  down  before  the  outpouring  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  was  not  discussion  but  the 
breath  of  God  that  relegated  Tom  Paine,  Vol- 
taire, Volney  and  other  of  the  old  infidels  to 
the  limbo  of  forgetfulness ;  and  we  need  a  new 


114  HOW    TO    PRAY 

breath  from  God  to  send  the  Wellhausens  and 
the  Kuenens  and  the  Grafs  and  the  parrots 
they  have  trained  to  occupy  chairs  and  pulpits 
in  England  and  America  to  keep  them  com- 
pany. I  believe  that  breath  from  God  is 
coming. 

The  great  need  of  to-day  is  a  general  revival. 
The  need  is  clear.  It  admits  of  no  honest 
difference  of  opinion.  What  then  shall  we  do? 
Pray.  Take  up  the  Psalmist's  prayer,  "Revive 
us  again,  that  Thy  people  may  rejoice  in 
Thee."  Take  up  Ezekiel's  prayer,  "Come 
from  the  four  winds,  O  breath  (breath  of  God), 
and  breathe  upon  these  slain  that  they  may 
live."  Hark,  I  hear  a  noise!  Behold  a  shak- 
ing! I  can  almost  feel  the  breeze  upon  my 
cheek.  I  can  almost  see  the  great  living  army 
rising  to  their  feet.  Shall  we  not  pray  and 
pray  and  pray  and  pray,  till  the  Spirit  comes, 
and  God  revives  His  people? 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE     PLACE     OF    PRAYER    BEFORE   AND   DURING 
REVIVALS 

No  treatment  of  the  subject  How  to  Pray 
would  be  at  all  complete  if  it  did  not  consider 
the  place  of  prayer  in  revivals. 

The  first  great  revival  of  Christian  history 
had  its  origin  on  the  human  side  in  a  ten*  days' 
prayer-meeting.  We  read  of  that  handful  of 
disciples,  *' These  all  with  one  accord  continued 
steadfastly  in  prayer.'*  (Acts  1:14,  R.  V.) 
The  result  of  that  prayer-meeting  we  read  of 
in  the  2d  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
*'They  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  (v.  4.)  Further 
on  in  the  chapter  we  read  that  "th^re  were 
added  unto  them  in  that  day  about  three  thou- 
sand souls."  (v.  41,  R.  V.)  This  revival  proved 
genuine  and  permanent.  The  converts  *' con- 
tinued steadfastly  in  the  apostles'  teaching  and 
fellowship,  in  the  breaking  of  bread  and  the 
prayers."  (v.  42,  R.  V.)  "And  the  Lord  added 
115 


Il6  HOW   TO    FRAY 

to  them  day  by  day  those  that  were  being 
saved."     (v.  47.  R-  V.) 

Every  true  revival  from  that  day  to  this  has 
had  its  earthly  origin  in  prayer.  The  great 
revival  under  Jonathan  Edwards  in  the  i8th 
century  began  with  his  famous  call  to  prayer. 
The  marvelous  work  of  grace  among  the 
Indians  under  Brainerd  had  its  origin  in  the 
days  and  nights  that  Brainerd  spent  before 
God  in  prayer  for  an  enduement  of  power  from 
on  high  for  this  work. 

A  most  remarkable  and  widespread  display 
of  God's  reviving  power  was  that  which  broke 
out  at  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1830,  under 
the  labors  of  Charles  G.  Finney.  It  not  only 
spread  throughout  the  State  but  ultimately  to 
Great  Britain  as  well.  Mr.  Finney  himself 
attributed  the  power  of  this  work  to  the  spirit 
of  prayer  that  prevailed.  He  describes  it  in 
his  autobiography  in  the  following  words: 

**When  I  was  on  my  way  to  Rochester,  as 
we  passed  through  a  village,  some  thirty  miles 
east  of  Rochester,  a  brother  minister  whom  I 
knew,  seeing  me  on  the  canal-boat,  jumped 
aboard  to  have  a  little  conversation  with  me, 
intending  to  ride  but  a  little  way  and  return. 
He,  however,  became  interested  in  con  versa- 


THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER  II7 

tion,  and  upon  finding  where  I  was  going,  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  keep  on  and  go  with  me 
to  Rochester.  We  had  been  there  but  a  few 
days  when  this  minister  became  so  convicted 
that  he  could  not  help  weeping  aloud  at  one 
time  as  we  passed  along  the  street.  The  Lord 
gave  him  a  powerful  spirit  of  prayer,  and  his 
heart  was  broken.  As  he  and  I  prayed 
together,  I  was  struck  with  his  faith  in  regard 
to  what  the  Lord  was  going  to  do  there.  I 
recollect  he  would  say,  'Lord,  I  do  not  know 
how  it  is ;  but  I  seem  to  know  that  Thou  art 
going  to  do  a  greaf  work  in  this  city. '  The 
spirit  of  prayer  was  poured  out  powerfully,  so 
much  so  that  some  persons  stayed  away  from 
the  public  services  to  pray,  being  unable  to 
restrain  their  feelings  under  preaching. 
^**And  here  I  must  introduce  the  name  of  a 
man,  whom  I  shall  have  occasion  to  mention 
frequently,  Mr.  Abel  Clary.  He  was  the  son 
of  a  very  excellent  man,  and  an  elder  of  the 
church  where  I  was  converted.  He  was  con- 
verted in  the  same  revival  in  which  I  was.  He 
had  been  licensed  to  preach ;  but  his  spirit  of 
prayer  was  such,  he  was  so  burdened  with  the 
souls  of  men,  that  he  was  not  able  to  preach 
much,  his  whole  time  and  strength  being  given 


Il8  HOW  TO  PRAY 

to  prayer.  The  burden  of  his  soul  would  fre- 
quently be  so  great  that  he  was  unable  to 
stand,  and  he  would  writhe  and  groan  in 
agony.  I  was  well  acquainted  with  him,  and 
knew  something  of  the  wonderful  spirit  of 
prayer  that  was  upon  him.  He  was  a  very 
silent  man,  as  almost  all  are  who  have  that 
powerful  spirit  of  prayer. 

"The  first  I  knew  of  his  being  in  Rochester, 
a  gentleman  who  lived  about  a  mile  west  of 
the  city,  called  on  me  one  day  and  asked  me  if 
I  knew  a  Mr.  Abel  Clary,  a  minister.  I  told 
him  that  I  knew  him  well.  'Well,'  he  said, 
*he  is  at  my  house,  and  has  been  there  for 
some  time,  and  I  don't  know  what  to  think  of 
him.'  I  said,  *I  have  not  seen  him  at  any  of 
our  meetings.'  'No,'  he  replied,  'he  cannot 
go  to  meeting,  he  says.  He  prays  nearly  all 
the  time,  day  and  night,  and  in  such  agony  of 
mind  that  I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 
Sometimes  he  cannot  even  stand  on  his  knees, 
but  will  lie  prostrate  on  the  floor,  and  groan 
and  pray  in  a  manner  that  quite  astonishes 
me.'  I  said  to  the  brother,  'I  understand  it: 
please  keep  stiil.  It  will  all  come  out  right; 
he  will  surely  prevail. ' 

*'I  knew  at  the  time  a  considerable  number 


THE    PLACE    OF   PRAYER  II9 

of  men  who  were  exercised  in  the  same  way. 

A  Deacon  P ,  of  Camden,  Oneida  county; 

a  Deacon  T ,  of  Rodman,  Jefferson  county; 

a  Deacon  B ,  of  Adams,  in  the  same  county; 

this  Mr.  Clary  and  many  others  among  the  men, 
and  a  large  number  of  women  partook  of  the 
same  spirit,  and  spent  a  great  part  of  their  time 
in  prayer.  Father  Nash,  as  we  called  him,  who 
in  several  of  my  fields  of  labor  came  to  me  and 
aided  me,  was  another  of  those  men  that  had 
such  a  powerful  spirit  of  prevailing  prayer. 
This  Mr.  Clary  continued  in  Rochester  as  long 
as  I  did,  and  did  not  leave  it  until  after  I  had 
left.  He  never,  that  I  could  learn,  appeared 
in  public,  but  gave  himself  wholly  to  prayer. 
"I  think  it  was  the  second  Sabbath  that  I 
was  at  Auburn  at  this  time,  I  observed  in  the 
congregation  the  solemn  face  of  Mr.  Clary. 
He  looked  as  if  he  was  borne  down  with  an 
agony  of  prayer.  Being  well  acquainted  with 
him,  and  knowing  the  great  gift  of  God  that 
was  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  prayer,  I  was  very 
glad  to  see  him  there.  He  sat  in  the  pew  with 
his  brother,  the  doctor,  who  was  also  a  pro- 
fessor of  religion,  but  who  had  nothing  by 
experience,  I  should  think,  of  his  brother 
Abel's  great  power  with  God. 


I20  HOW   TO   PRAY 

**At  intermission,  as  soon  as  I  came  down 
from  the  pulpit,  Mr.  Clary,  with  his  brother, 
met  me  at  the  pulpit  stairs,  and  the  doctor 
invited  me  to  go  home  with  him  and  spend  the 
intermission  and  get  some  refreshments.  I 
did  so. 

*' After  arriving  at  his  house  we  were  soon 
summoned  to  the  dinner  table.  We  gathered 
about  the  table,  and  Dr.  Clary  turned  to  his 
brother  and  said,  'Brother  Abel,  will  you  ask 
the  blessing?'  Brother  Abel  bowed  his  head 
and  began,  audibly,  to  ask  a  blessing.  He  had 
uttered  but  a  sentence  or  two  when  he  broke 
instantly  down,  moved  suddenly  back  from  the 
table,  and  fled  to  his  chamber.  The  doctor 
supposed  he  had  been  taken  suddenly  ill,  and 
rose  up  and  followed  him.  In  a  few  moments 
he  came  down  and  said,  *Mr.  Finney,  brother 
Abel  wants  to  see  you.*  Said  I,  'What  ails 
him?'  Said  he,  'I  do  not  know  but  he  says; 
you  know.  He  appears  in  great  distress,  but 
I  think  it  is  the  state  of  his  mind.  *  I  under- 
stood it  in  a  moment,  and  went  to  his  room. 
He  lay  groaning  upon  the  bed,  the  Spirit  mak- 
ing intercession  for  him,  and  in  him,  with 
groanings  that  could  not  be  uttered.  I  had 
barely  entered  the  room,  when  he  made  out 


THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER  121 

to  say,  *Pray,  brother  Finney.'  I  knelt  down 
and  helped  him  in  prayer,  by  leading  his  soul 
out  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  I  continued 
to  pray  until  his  distress  passed  away,  and  then 
I  returned  to  the  dinner  table. 

**I  understood  that  this  was  the  voice  of  God. 
I  saw  the  spirit  of  prayer  was  upon  him,  and 
I  felt  his  influence  upon  myself,  and  took  it  for 
granted  that  the  work  would  move  on  power- 
fully. It  did  so.  The  pastor  told  me  after- 
ward that  he  found  that  in  the  six  weeks  that 
I  was  there,  five  hundred  souls  had  been  con- 
Verted.** 

Mr.  Finney  in  his  lectures  on  revivals  tells 
of  other  remarkable  awakenings  in  answer  to 
the  prayers  of  God's  people.     He  says  in  one 

place,  **A  clergyman  in  W n  told  me  of  a 

revival  among  his  people,  which  commenced 
with  a  zealous  and  devoted  woman  in  the 
church.  She  became  anxious  about  sinners, 
and  went  to  praying  for  them ;  she  prayed,  and 
her  distress  increased;  and  she  finally  came  to 
her  minister,  and  talked  with  him,  and  asked 
him  to  appoint  an  anxious  meeting,  for  she  felt 
that  one  was  needed.  The  minister  put  her 
off,  for  he  felt  nothing  of  it.  The  next  week 
she  came  again,  and  besought  him  to  appoint 


122  HOW   TO    PRAY 

an  anxious  meeting ;  she  knew  there  would  be 
somebody  to  come,  for  she  felt  as  if  God  was 
going  to  pour  out  His  Spirit,  He  put  her  oft 
again.  And  finally  she  said  to  him,  *If  you 
do  not  appoint  an  anxious  meeting  I  shall  die, 
for  there  is  certainly  going  to  be  a  revival.' 
The  next  Sabbath  he  appointed  a  meeting, 
and  said  that  if  there  were  any  who  wished 
to  converse  with  him  about  the  salvation  of 
their  souls,  he  would  meet  them  on  such 
an  evening.  He  did  not  know  of  one,  but 
when  he  went  to  the  place,  to  his  astonish 
ment  he  found  a  large  number  of  anxious 
inquirers. ' ' 

In  still  another  place  he  says,  **The  first  ray 
of  light  that  broke  in  upon  the  midnight  which 
rested  on  the  churches  in  Oneida  county,  in 
the  fall  of  1825,  was  from  a  woman  in  feeble 
health,  who,  I  believe,  had  never  been  in  a 
powerful  revival.  Her  soul  was  exercised 
about  sinners.  She  was  in  agony  for  the 
land.  She  did  not  know  what  ailed  her,  but 
she  kept  praying  more  and  more,  till  it  seemed 
as  if  her  agony  would  destroy  her  body.  At 
length  she  became  full  of  joy  and  exclaimed, 
*God  has  come!  God  has  come!  There  is  no 
mistake  about  it,  the   work  is   begun,  and  is 


THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER  I 23 

going  over  all  the  region!'  And  sure  enough, 
the  work  began,  and  her  family  were  almost 
all  converted,  and  the  work  spread  all  over 
that  part  of  the  country." 

The  great  revival  of  1857  in  the  United 
States  began  in  prayer  and  was  carried  on  by 
prayer  more  than  by  anything  else.  Dr.  Cuy- 
ler  in  an  article  in  a  religious  newspaper  some 
years  ago  said,  "Most  revivals  have  humble 
beginnings,  and  the  fire  starts  in  a  few  warm 
hearts.  Never  despise  the  day  of  small  things. 
During  all  my  own  long  ministry,  nearly  every 
work  of  grace  had  a  similar  beginning.  One 
commenced  in  a  meeting  gathered  at  a  few 
hours'  notice  in  a  private  house.  Another 
commenced  in  a  group  gathered  for  Bible  study 
by  Mr.  Moody  in  our  mission  chapel.  Still 
another — the  most  powerful  of  all — was  kindled 
on  a  bitter  January  evening  at  a  meeting  of 
young  Christians  under  my  roof.  Dr.  Spen- 
cer, in  his  'Pastor's  Sketches',  (the  most  sug- 
gestive book  of  its  kind  I  have  ever  read),  tells 
us  that  a  remarkable  revival  in  his  church 
sprang  from  the  fervent  prayers  of  a  godly  old 
man  who  was  confined  to  his  room  by  lame- 
ness. That  profound  Christian,  Dr.  Thomas 
H.  Skinner,  of  the  Union  Theological  Semi- 


124  "OW   TO   PRAY 

nary,  once  gave  me  an  account  of  a  remarkable 
coming  together  of  three  earnest  men  in  his 
study  when  he  was  the  pastor  of  the  Arch 
Street  Church  in  Philadelphia.  They  literally 
wrestled  in  prayer.  They  made  a  clean  breast 
in  confession  of  sin,  and  humbled  themselves 
before  God.  One  and  another  church  officer 
came  in  and  joined  them.  The  heaven-kindled 
flame  soon  spread  through  the  whole  congre- 
gation in  one  of  the  most  powerful  revivals 
ever  known  in  that  city." 
3  In  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century 
there  was  a  great  religious  awakening  in 
Ulster,  Ireland.  The  lands  of  the  rebel  chiefs 
which  had  been  forfeited  to  the  British  crown, 
were  settled  up  by  a  class  of  colonists  who  for 
the  most  part  were  governed  by  a  spirit  of 
wild  adventure.  Real  piety  was  rare.  Seven 
ministers,  five  from  Scotland  and  two  from 
England,  settled  in  that  country,  the  earliest 
arrivals  being  in  1613.  Of  one  of  these  minis- 
ters named  Blair  it  is  recorded  by  a  contempo- 
rary, **He  spent  many  days  and  nights  in 
prayer,  alone  and  with  others,  and  was  vouch- 
safed great  intimacy  with  God."  Mr.  James 
Glendenning,  a  man  of  very  meager  natural 
gifts,  was  a  man  similarly  minded  as  regards 


THE    PLACE    OF    PRAYER  125 

prayer.  The  work  began  under  this  man  Glen- 
denning.  The  historian  of  the  time  says,  *'He 
was  a  man  who  never  would  have  been  chosen 
by  a  wise  assembly  of  ministers,  nor  sent  to 
begin  a  reformation  in  this  land.  Yet  this  was 
the  Lord's  choice  to  begin  with  him  the  admir- 
able work  of  God  which  I  mention  on  purpose 
that  all  may  see  how  the  glory  is  only  the 
Lord's  in  making  a  holy  nation  in  this  profane 
land,  and  that  it  was  *not  by  might,  nor  by 
power,  nor  by  man's  wisdom,  but  by  My  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord. '  "  In  his  preaching  at  Oldstone 
multitudes  of  hearers  felt  in  great  anxiety  and 
terror  of  conscience.  They  looked  on  them- 
selves as  altogether  lost  and  damned,  and  cried 
out,  "Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  to 
be  saved?"  They  were  stricken  into  a  swoon 
by  the  power  of  His  Word.  A  dozen  in  one 
day  were  carried  out  of  doors  as  dead.  These 
were  not  women,  but  some  of  the  boldest 
spirits  of  the  neighborhood;  "some  who  had 
formerly  feared  not  with  their  swords  to 
put  a  whole  market  town  into  a  fray."  Con- 
cerning one  of  them,  the  historian  writes, 
"I  have  heard  one  of  them,  then  a  mighty 
strong  man,  now  a  mighty  Christian,  say 
that  his   end   in  coming  into  church  was  to 


I2&  HOW   TO   PRAY 

consult  with  his  companions  how  to  work 
some  mischief." 

This  work  spread  throughout  the  whole 
country.  By  the  year  1626  a  monthly  concert 
of  prayer  was  held  in  Antrim.  The  work 
spread  beyond  the  bounds  of  Dov/n  and  Antrim 
to  the  churches  of  the  neighboring  counties. 
So  great  became  the  religious  interest  that 
Christians  would  come  thirty  or  forty  miles  to 
the  communions,  and  continue  from  the  time 
they  came  until  they  returned  without  weary- 
ing or  making  use  of  sleep.  Many  of  them 
neither  ate  nor  drank,  and  yet  some  of  them 
professed  that  they  "went  away  most  fresh 
and  vigorous,  their  souls  so  filled  with  the 
sense  of  God." 

This  revival  changed  the  whole  character  of 
northern  Ireland. 

Another  great  awakening  in  Ireland  in  1859 
had  a  somewhat  similar  origin.  By  many  who 
did  not  know,  it  was  thought  that  this  marvel- 
ous work  came  without  warning  and  prepara- 
tion, but  Rev.  William  Gibson,  the  moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Ireland  in  i860,  in  his  very  interest- 
ing and  valuable  history  of  the  work  tells  how 
there   had   been   preparation    for  two  years. 


THE   PLACE   OF   PRAYER  I 27 

There  had  been  constant  discussion  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  low  estate  of  religion, 
and  of  the  need  of  a  revival.  There  had  been 
special  sessions  for  prayer.  Finally  four  young 
men,  who  became  leaders  in  the  origin  of  the 
great  work,  began  to  meet  together  in  an  old 
schoolhouse  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kells. 
About  the  spring  of  1858  a  work  of  power 
began  to  manifest  itself.  It  spread  from  town 
to  town,  and  from  county  to  county.  The 
congregations  became  too  large  for  the  build- 
ings, and  the  ^meetings  were  held  in  the  open 
air,  oftentimes  attended  by  many  thousands  of 
people.  Many  hundreds  of  persons  were  fre- 
quently convicted  of  sin  in  a  single  meeting. 
In  some  places  the  criminal  courts  and  jails 
were  closed  for  lack  of  occupation.  There 
were  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power 
of  a  most  remarkable  character,  clearly  prov- 
ing that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  as  ready  to  work 
to-day  as  in  apostolic  days,  when  ministers  and 
Christians  really  believe  in  Him  and  begin  to 
prepare  the  way  by  prayer. 

Mr.  Moody's  wonderful  work  in  England  and 
Scotland  and  Ireland  that  afterwards  spread 
to  America  had  its  origin  on  the  manward 
side  in  prayer.     Mr.  Moody  made  little  im- 


138  HOW  TO   PRAY 

pression  until  men  and  women  began  to  cry  to 
God.  Indeed  his  going  to  England  at  all  was 
in  answer  to  the  importunate  cries  to  God  of 
a  bed-ridden  saint.  While  the  spirit  of  prayer 
continued  the  revival  abode  in  strength,  but  in 
the  course  of  time  less  and  less  was  made  of 
prayer  and  the  work  fell  off  very  perceptibly 
in  power.  Doubtless  one  of  the  great  secrets 
of  the  unsatisfactoriness  and  superficiality  and 
unreality  of  many  of  our  modern  so-called 
revivals,  is  that  more  dependence  is  put  upon 
man*s  machinery  than  upon  God's  power, 
sought  and  obtained  by  earnest,  persistent, 
believing  prayer.  We  live  in  a  day  character- 
ized by  the  multiplication  of  man's  machinery 
and  the  diminution  of  God's  power.  The  great 
cry  of  our  day  is  work,  work,  work,  new  organ- 
izations, new  methods,  new  machinery;  the 
great  need  of  our  day  is  prayer.  It  was  a  mas- 
ter stroke  of  the  devil  when  he  got  the  church 
so  generally  to  lay  aside  this  mighty  weapon  of 
prayer.  The  devil  is  perfectly  willing  that  the 
church  should  multiply  its  organizations,  and 
deftly  contrive  machinery  for  the  conquest  of 
the  v/orld  for  Christ  if  it  will  only  give  up 
praying.  He  laughs  as  he  looks  at  the  church 
to-day  and  says  to  himself: 


THE    PLACE   OF   PRAYER  1^9 

•*You  can  have  your  Sunday-schools  and 
your  Young  People's  Societies,  your  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  and  your 
Women's  Christian  Temperance  Unions,  your 
Institutional  Churches  and  your  Industrial 
Schools,  and  your  Boys'  Brigades,  your  grand 
choirs  and  your  fine  organs,  your  brilliant 
preachers  and  your  revival  efforts  too,  if  you 
don't  bring  the  power  of  Almighty  God  into 
them  by  earnest,  persistent,  believing,  mighty 
prayer." 

Prayer  could  v^ork  as  marvelous  results  to- 
day as  it  ever  could,  if  the  church  would  only 
betake  itself  to  it. 

There  seems  to  be  increasing  signs  that  the 
church  is  awaking  to  this  fact.  Here  and 
there  God  is  laying  upon  individual  ministers 
and  churches  a  burden  of  prayer  that  they 
have  never  known  before.  Less  dependence 
is  being  put  upon  machinery  and  more  depend- 
ence upon  God.  Ministers  are  crying  to  God 
day  and  night  for  power.  Churches  and  por- 
tions of  churches  are  meeting  together  in  the 
early  morning  hours  and  the  late  night  hours 
crying  to  God  for  the  latter  rain.  There  is 
every  indication  of  the  coming  of  a  mighty 
and  widespread  revival.     There  is  every  rea- 


130  HOW  TO  PRAY 

son  why,  if  a  revival  should  come  hi  any 
country  at  this  time,  it  should  be  more  wide- 
spread in  its  extent  than  any  revival  of 
history.  There  is  the  closest  and  swiftest 
communication  by  travel,  by  letter,  and  by 
cable  between  all  parts  of  the  world.  A  true 
fire  of  God  kindled  in  America  would  soon 
spread  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
The  only  thing  needed  to  bring  this  fire  is 
prayer. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  the  whole  church  get 
to  praying  to  begin  with.  Great  revivals 
always  begin  first  in  the  hearts  of  a  few  men 
and  women  whom  God  arouses  by  His  Spirit 
to  believe  in  Him  as  a  living  God,  as  a  God 
who  answers  prayer,  and  upon  whose  heart  He 
lays  a  burden  from  which  no  rest  can  be  found 
except  in  importunate  crying  unto  God. 

May  God  use  this  book  to  arouse  many  others 
to  pray  that  the  greatly-needed  revival  may 
come,  and  come  speedily. 


LIT  US  PRAT. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01025  3088 


